The Power Potential Of Google+ Pages For Businesses

The original article is from http://www.fastcompany.com
Written BY Nathaniel PerezMon Nov 7, 2011

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.


New Ad Behaviors

Google will do what Facebook has shied away from doing: integrating social distribution and relevance into ads that can be placed anywhere the display network can reach. This will spark a long-awaited integration of social and direct media, creating brand new opportunities.
More interestingly, the application of +1 to ad placements is disruptive. At its core, the idea of +1 and sharing directly from an ad unit forces advertisers to think twice about engagement intent. While media placements have largely been designed with strict paths to conversion, they will now allow marketers to do what is done every day via social media: tell more compelling stories and encourage users to share. This will undoubtedly revive anemic engagement rates in this category and lead audiences more naturally from direct media into social conversations, a long-awaited change.

Social Media ROI Through Mature Metrics

Google will allow marketers to deliver value through social media, while measuring impact through directly related metrics that are far more mature. A few things that will become possible, at least in ways that won't require too much science, data collection, or expensive tools:

1. Understanding the impact of social content on search and keyword relevance.
2. An integrated understanding of traffic and distribution through search, web sources as well as social propagation (do check out Google+ Ripples and how post distribution can be tracked). 
3. A clear connection between direct media conversion data and social behavior.

It's no surprise that at the heart of this strategy, Google will leverage Analytics to integrate measurement into a single view.

CAN GOOGLE PAGES BE A WIN? IT MIGHT...

 …If Google figures out its launch strategy. Google needs to grab control of its feature release cycle, at least as far as public perception is concerned. A clearer direction can drum up massive excitement (as its initial launch organically demonstrated). Add to that a little more pizazz and commitment to communication (think Lady Gaga for Chrome). A better handshake with partners, especially platform vendors, wouldn't hurt either. Last time we checked, +Pages are not integrated to any social media management platform, there is no sign of an official API, and page-management permission features are too primitive for big brands. Forgiveness can't last forever.
…If there are incentives for engagement. Brands could easily spare themselves the trouble of yet another social channel to manage, with its own set of processes and policies still to be defined, unless Google can create clear ways to show brands that engagement is worth their effort. For example, the launch of a page  should not be another uphill battle towards a large following, but rather a clear demonstration of how the Google network can help social "pay off." The question is how Google will productize this value proposition for the product and how it will aggressively make it happen for marketers.
…If marketers can reach beyond the page. In a world of Facebook marketers shackled to EdgeRank, Google should focus on reach and relevance, enabling +Page marketers to reach far beyond their page, fans and circles and into the Google network, allowing wonderful things to happen. Think about "One Click Video Seeding": allowing marketers to "buy up" on video posts, reaching directly into YouTube and Display Network placements. Or think about Google enabling the idea of YouTube Publishers on Google+, allowing marketers to tap into the right influencers and to watch the impact of social sharing through Google+ Ripples. Or better yet, Google+ providing marketers with the ability to align their page content with the right SEO keywords, also with a "buy up" SEM option. This strategy has endless possibilities if it's considered.
…If brand circles are flexible. More powerful than the idea of brands added to user circles, or even followers added brand circles, is the idea that fans can add themselves to a brand's own circles. A follower that identifies to something the brand stands for is a natural thing. It's also a much richer new basis for a relationship than Facebook likes, or Google+ follows. Let's consider a hypothetical--if I choose to belong to vitaminwater's "Hip-Hop" circle on Google+ Pages, it's very different than saying I dig the "Skaters" circle. It's basically just saying: "I like you because…". Yet, it is a powerfully new concept for both brands and fans.
…If Google focuses on integrated value. It's easy for Google to get caught up in the social network "runner up" game against Facebook. It needs to stay focused on the fact that its first and biggest opportunity is in realizing value across their ecosystem. Content, +Pages, +Ads, Circles, Influencers and the Google ecosystem together are pure power.

Will Google get it right? I would love to hear your thoughts. I'm @perezable on Twitter.

What Every Company Should Take From Barnes & Noble: A Page From Their Corporate Playbook

The original article is from http://www.fastcompany.com
Written BY FC Expert Blogger Aaron ShapiroWed Nov 9, 2011

 If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

Time and time again we've seen the same story play out: An established industry player ignores digital and ends up in a fight for survival against a brash startup, empowered by a little user focus and unencumbered by the burdens of maintaining the status quo.

I'm not saying that the Nook is the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that it can beat the Fire or iPad. And I'm not even sure if the product will ensure Barnes & Noble's long-term future--after all, its primary business is still the declining business of selling print books in physical stores. But with the “bookseller’s” new tech cred and revenue stream, it could stay relevant, survive, and even succeed. Compare that to Borders, its erstwhile competitor. It essentially watched the digital revolution from the sidelines while its business slid into bankruptcy--a chain of events I highlighted through a recent stunt.


Here’s what Barnes & Noble did to transcend its would-be analog and fruitless future:

• The Right Management: Barnes & Noble hired William Lynch, an Internet executive who had previously worked at HSNi, IAC, and Palm, to run its digital operations. He was soon promoted to CEO--a radical move as he had no prior experience in the book business or physical retail.
• The Right Strategy: Management imagined a digital future where the products it sold (books, music, and video) were all digital, and saw themselves as a big seller of that digital content. Then they took a great risk to make it happen by building an organization that could create, market, and sell what became the Nook. This is no easy task. It means creating a new organizational structure, attracting new talent, and most importantly having a willingness to cannibalize the core business.  

• The Right Leverage: Traditional companies have some things going for them that technology pure-plays lack, namely, "traditional" assets. The smartest companies leverage those assets to create a new solution that's superior to what the technology-only companies can produce. In doing so, they turn their business' legacy from a weakness to a strength. In the case of Barnes & Noble, it's their stores, which they're turning into giant showcases for the Nook, like mini, B&N versions of the Apple store. It's great for sales and customer service, and it’s something Amazon cannot offer.

These are important lessons for any business leader. The only companies that have a chance of surviving the digital revolution must enter the technology fray and compete head-on. Of course, that doesn’t always--or even often--mean the company needs to develop the newest gadget. More often it comes to life as a software business that’s run as a companion to the core, existing business. In either case, though, the technology side must be built and run, as Barnes & Noble has shown. A digital-savvy manager must have enough influence to execute great, company-wide change based on a strategy where technology is used to increase the value and relevance of legacy operations.

When the world is run on software, the only businesses that will survive are technology companies. So learn from Barnes & Noble. Become a great technology company and own your future.

Should You Hire For Skill Or Spirit?

The original article is from http://www.fastcompany.com
Written BY FC Expert Blogger Michelle RandallTue Nov 8, 2011

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

Companies spend a huge amount of time and resources crafting business strategies. Even so, most of these strategies end in failure. If employees don’t buy into a strategy, it’s doomed to failure from the start. After all, strategy doesn’t execute itself. People execute it. This is why it’s vital to integrate strategy and people.

Because people represent the potential of the business, high-growth companies need high-growth employees. Employee development is the key ingredient in breaking through to the next level of growth. Employees have to develop new skills that allow them to perform at higher levels so that they can quickly deliver on the potential of the strategy and the company itself.

While it’s certainly possible to hire for new capabilities, there are tremendous benefits of promoting from within. Just a few benefits include: retaining technical knowledge; honoring the informal, social fabric of the organization; and fostering the culture of the company.

Employee development needs to be included in both strategy creation and execution. There are two main ways to assess people and their development: skills and spirit.

Spirit refers to the “soft” skills that can’t be trained effectively. You have to hire for them. These are hard to find but are necessary for a company to function smoothly.

One of these skills is teamwork--the ability to put the needs of the group ahead of personal desires. Another is heart, as in “put your heart into it.” This describes true commitment and passionate engagement. Employees with heart take ownership of their jobs and go the extra mile.

Too often, companies hire for skills without enough consideration for spirit. When that happens, you end up with a bunch of wonks who can’t work together. There needs to be a balance between skills and spirit  across the entire company.

An Expert Tells Us 12 Things You Need To Know About Doing Business In India

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written Aimee Groth | Nov. 10, 2011, 9:25 AM


If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

Today America and India trade billions of dollars worth of goods and services every year.  But it wasn't always this way. In 1985, two-way trading was around $100 million, says Rajiv Khanna, an M&A lawyer for K&L Gates. He's represented U.S. and Indian companies — including Walmart, Par Pharmaceuticals and private equity firm Berggruen Holdings — in deals since then.

Which means he's also seen his fair share of businesses make mistakes while trying to break into the Indian market. "I saw the entire evolution until the present day," he says. "I don’t think you ever know the rules – even I can learn every day. And I had a head start."

Here are some tips he gave us for moving into the Indian market:
Don't assume things are the same, no matter how 'Americanized' your business partners may be
"The general rule that nobody follows: they assume that business is done the same way in their home country. It’s the natural reflex. It gets accentuated in a country like India. If you go to China, you’re reminded more obviously that you’re in a foreign country. In India, you may be lulled into complacency. The differences are still there."
If you expect something to take a week, it'll take a month
"First and foremost, there's the timing perception. If the average American businessman wants to do something in one week, it will take four times as long. If you’re a person who gets impatient, you shouldn’t be the one doing the deal."
You're not that important — even if you're the CEO of a Fortune 10 company 
"The second thing is your perception of your self-importance. If you’re one of the Fortune 10 companies, your assumption would be you’ll be treated in a certain manner, because you’re used to being treated in that manner in your home country. That is not a good assumption. The CEO of a major U.S. company took his private plane to India with his team – and he assumed he didn’t even need a visa. But in India you need a visa. [The authorities] gave him 24 hours and they fetched him and deported him. That’s the way the system works. You can’t assume you’ll be treated with an amount of deference and respect."
If you're like most American corporations, you'll choose Delhi for your Indian headquarters 
"Mumbai is like New York and Delhi is like Washington, D.C. A lot more business is done in Delhi. It's also the most livable city. The government is hiring there. There's better infrastructure; more cleanliness. Lots of American corporations are based there. If you have to travel two times a week to talk to the government, you might as well be here."
But expect to travel all over India to do business 
"You really can’t do business by staying in one city – your base is just where your airport is. Visit the Delhi airport at 6 a.m., and it's filled with people who are going to another city. Everything is two hours away.

There’s not enough business in any city. You can’t just sit in Delhi – you have to go to five cities. You can be a lawyer in New York, and never leave. People travel a lot because they need to capture the market."
Expect to start and end your day late
"Business in the morning starts late – people have more breakfast meetings. Generally around 10, 10:30.
Dinner time in India also tends to be late. At 6 p.m., people are still having evening tea."

Prepare for things to change at the last minute 
"Meetings often get scheduled at the last minute, and often change at the last minute. One of the major management consulting firms I represented wanted to schedule a dinner at 6 p.m. in Delhi. I said, 'Nobody will come to your dinner.' People showed up at 9 and 10 p.m. This guy didn’t listen to me. I told him it's your fault scheduling thinking you have the self-importance to schedule an early dinner."
Even though your Indian counterparts may speak English, there are still language barriers. 
"Most people speak English. That’s an advantage you have – but that doesn’t mean everything translates. People say, 'no problem’ – but there can be a number of problems."
Before booking any trip to India, look at all the religious holiday calendars"There are more religious holidays in India. Don’t plan a trip right in the middle of them. You could encounter four days of holidays."
Address people by their last names  
"You don’t jump to first names quickly. But that can change – people are open to the idea."
Don't go in for a handshake with a woman 
"Generally you would not shake hands with a woman. But no one is getting terribly upset if you do it. That’s another thing you need to know."
And you don't need the perfect handshake 
"In America, you have to have a firm handshake. In India, you shouldn’t read anything into a limp handshake. A full handshake is not as common. They're more relaxed about that."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-do-business-in-india-2011-11?utm_source=Pulse&utm_medium=App?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews#ixzz1fUjur5X5

Leveraging Blog Comments & Reviews

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written Lisa Barone, Outspoken Media | Nov. 9, 2011, 8:43 PM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

OMG, I MADE IT! I just hauled serious, well, you know, to get here on time. Luckily, Mike D. held the session for me by stalling and telling stories until I could get set up. THANKS, MIKE!

So up on stage we have Michael Dorausch, Warren Whitlock, Adam Proehl, and Arienne Holland.
Up first is Michael.

He’s checking out reviews for dentists here in Vegas because he likes to keep it local.  If you looked at them, you might say, great, there are lots of dentists with nothing but five 5-star reviews. But he knows better because he knows how to study reviews. He knows their anatomy. If you see that all reviews are written on a Tuesday around the same time, that’s staff.   If you are going to have your staff write you fake reviews (which you shouldn’t do) at least teach them how to do it better.

He shows a particularly nasty review from a guy named Chad and mentions he might want to flag it as inappropriate.  The notes how the owner responded with something that was really impersonal. Mike says I (like, me) would have done it differently. I think he gives me too much credit. ;)  He shows how the business was coming to respond months after negative reviews were being post and were basically cut and pasting the exact same response. It tells us the business is kind of crappy at social media. As a consumer, that’s a red flag for pretty much anyone.

If he has a negative review that is legitimate, he will go online and respond to that.  He’ll take his punches and be transparent about it. If it’s a hater, his approach and his thought is that the person doesn’t exist. Chad’s just a hater and he’s not going to play the game. One of these days if Google is going to clean it up, they’re more likely to get rid of stuff he, as the owner, isn’t responding to. By responding, he lends credibility to the bad review.

After some more research into Chad’s review, Mike find that Chad ONLY writes one-star reviews so maybe he’s just a hater or it’s a Mechanical Turk kind of thing. Most of the reviews he’s seeing in bulk, they’re churn negative reviews that if you really read them, you can tell.

Mike wishes that instead of being able to flag comments as inappropriate we could flag them as moronic. Heh.

How can you Ask For Reviews?
He mentions how Google is incentivizing reviews at the McCarran airport.  When you take advantage of the free Vegas airport wifi, a page jumps up that says “hi, why not review your favorite business while you’re here?”  That’s incentivizing reviews.  That’s also kind of awesome.

• URL Shorteners
• Page w links (your URL)
• Business Cards
• Postcards
• Emails
• Receipts

When his clients ask him what he wants for Christmas, he lets them know he’d love a review. They don’t ask for it, per se, but they do put up a small, friendly flier that asks people to leave reviews.
He mentions how the last time he got a really nasty review, he printed it out and hung it up in the office so that everyone could see it.  The result was that new clients read that review and they felt the need to defend Mike by leaving positive reviews.  He called it Review Bait, heh.
Next up is Adam Proehl.

A review really is user generated content, and that’s what he wants to talk about. Which, is good, since the session is on reviews.
Consumer World

• Usually simple transactions
• Discretionary income purchase
• Reviews not a new thing

70 percent of users trust consumer opinions posted online 80 percent of reviews are positive 97 of customers find online reviews to be accurate upon evaluation B2C Habits -> B2B Behavior

• Also consumers
• Carryover of B2C habits
• Some key differences – cycle length, pricing, approvals, agreements/contracts

Quickbooks Study – 555% Better They did a study about 18 months ago.  They have a Pro Advisors Program and they found they businesses with reviews received 555% more clicks than businesses without reviews. DUDE! When you think about sales, its important to think about the buying cycle and where reviews might come in.  They could come into play in the discovery stage, they could come into play when you’re doing pricing, when you’re telling people about it, etc.  93 percent of B2B buyers start the buying process with search.  What does that mean? It means that Google Instant is making it really easy for people to find reviews since they auto-populate it in the search box. 63 percent of B2B C-level execs turn to search to locate information during the approval process. This is one area where the long tail could  be useful.  You can’t optimize for all of your long tail terms, it’s just too much to put on your product detail page. Your customers can do that for you in their review. They can say how they use your product,  where they use it, etc. This helps you capitalize on long tail SEO. 80 percent of IT decision makers said word of mouth recommendations are the MOST important source when making buying decision. IT touches pretty much everything in your business. You want to win them over. Longer cycle means more due diligence, more touch points and multiple decision makers getting involved. Industry prediction: B2B will take advantage of social commerce tools and adopt at scale within 3 years vs B2Cs 7-year adoption page – Cathy Halligan, Power Reviews 9 out of 10 reviewers say they will find you when they’re ready to buy. You need to be there for your buyer. This may grow bigger than reviews. Some Tactics of the Pros

• Engage with post purchase surveys
• Find your Evangelists/Advocates
• Ask them to write a review

Not To Do

• Don’t Fake
• Don’t keep begging for reviews if you get no response

Next up is Arienne Holland. She starts off talking about her #littledog and all the lessons she’s learned about marketing from her little dog.  Okay, let’s go with this. At some point, we’re all the little dog and we have big dog competition.   Comments are things.  Commenting is an action that you can take on other sites and can benefit you and your business. You need a commenting strategy.  There are strategies you should avoid and strategies you should have. Ball L*cking: If you spend your time on your own site in your comments, you’re just dealing with comments, you are not commenting. You are a ball licker. OMG. Is this really happening. DAD, DON’T READ THIS POST! Puppy  Humping: You go and you just blast everywhere. There are 5 things that little dogs need: attention, attention, attention, attention and toys. In terms of blog commenting there are things you want attention from.  You want attention from potential customers. How do you do that? Go answer their questions. She was at a conference earlier this year and Sony did a presentation about how they  had done two years on extended social media monitoring to find that people were asking questions about how to use the Sony camera. It took them two years to figure them out. That’ show the big dog did it. The little dog can find out where the potential customers are and answer their questions honestly.  You can do it even if you’re recommending a service that is not your own? Why? Because you’re behind a hero and establishing trust. You can use blog comments for social monitoring.  People who have blogs and forums of their own and start creating relationships with them. Use them to get attention for industry influencers. Comment where your customers are, not where you will get the ego boost.  That’s called preaching to the congregation, not the choir. Another way to use blog commenting is to get attention from journalists. A lot of time we think getting noticed is going to cost too much money or take too much time, but it’s actually just about complimenting a reporter.  Be kind, be helpful and be smart. Over time, cycles are long, they will know your name and they will know you as a source. And that’s a very helpful person to be.  Be as specific as possible about who you are when commenting on news stories (not in a jerky way).  Be specific about how you are in terms of your expertise. The final thing a little dog needs is toys. Toys are tools.  Things like MuckRack, Fuego, etc. If you’re looking for places to comment, go where they gather. Use Meetup.com to find people.  If you’re looking for big thinkers, go search whose talking at TED.  Check out trade associations and conference sites. Don’t just look at the speaker list, look at the attendee list. Because you know they’re looking for something. Next up is Warren. He wants to do something different. He doesn’t have a PowerPoint. It’s a session on reviews, so he wants to get some reviews. He asks how many people are here to leverage comments. He asks how many people want to get rid of bad reviews. How many people want good reviews. How many people want a lot more customers to their business. The secret is that each person you interact with wants the same thing. Social media makes a whole lot of difference right now. The reason it’s a revolution is because the future is not about broadcasting out your message better, it’s about listening. The tools we have available today make it possible. You can find out exactly who is saying something. You can find people who are fans. Find out whose not really sure. Most problems can be solved by listening. People just want to be heard. He knows thats true of him. He complains a lot on Twitter.   He talks about Dell Hell…which is the first time I have heard anyone mention Dell Hell is probably four years. :) And he’s done.  He just wanted to make a few comments.

Read more: http://outspokenmedia.com/internet-marketing-conferences/leveraging-blog-comments-reviews/#ixzz1fUiu6ZyM

New Survey Tool is Every CEO’s Crystal Ball

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written George Roberts, OpenView Venture Partners | Nov. 9, 2011, 8:39 PM


If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.


Every founder / CEO in the software industry I know would love to have a crystal ball to help them and their management teams make the right decisions when it comes to strategic issues like

1. New product offerings that will grow revenues
2. The right competitive messages that will resonate with their prospects in their current target market segment
3. Identifying the next target market segment
4. Additional customer service offerings that will improve their Net Promoter Score and increase renewal, up-sell and referenceability.

…the list goes on and on.

While a crystal ball would help, we all know it does not exist. The next best thing to lower a company’s risk and help them make better decisions is to make informed decisions. The only way you can do that in this imperfect world with imperfect and incomplete data is to make sure you are talking directly to the people who influence or make decisions.

SurveyBuilder, a new (free) tool just released by USamp, helps you build, promote and analyze your surveys. It is easy to use, fast, unlimited and allows you to analyze survey responses real time. Plus, you can promote your survey through email, your website and social network sites.

Test-drive the tool here. I hope you find it useful. It may not be a crystal ball, but it should help you make better decisions as you build the next great software company.

Read more: http://blog.openviewpartners.com/new-survey-tool-is-every-ceos-crystal-ball/#ixzz1fUhYoDSZ

Business Beginnings: How I Handled My First Unforeseen Disaster

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written Young Entrepreneur Council | Nov. 8, 2011, 11:17 PM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

The biggest unforeseen disaster I faced was when an employee fell from one of our trucks during a big moving job, fracturing his arm.  Workers compensation was issued for the ensuing medical bills, but this was the first time we had to deal with a severe injury and incident report.It began with a big office job where we were using a 26ft heavy duty box truck to handle the volume of desks that were to be loaded.The loading process went smoothly for the most part, we carried very heavy desks out of offices down the elevator, out the front doors and into the truck, without harming any property or the items themselves. But then something happened.The last item loaded in was the top of a conference table which was incredibly bulky, long and heavy. Since we already filled up the truck with other items it had to be placed at the very back of the truck, not a safe spot for such a heavy item.  Ultimately it was placed at an awkward angle and awkward position and slid out of place, knocking the team member loading it off the truck.

What went wrong? It was a new unfamiliar situation with the office move compared to our usual residential jobs. It was also one of the larger jobs we had completed, and one of the first times we had a full team of employees doing the work rather than my partner and I just doing the moving ourselves. We failed to prioritize the items going in the truck properly (i.e. heaviest should have gone in first) and our crew was not properly trained for the job. But when a business owner is just getting started, a lot of times they don’t think proactively. A simple question at the beginning of the job to the client would have reconfirmed all the items to be removed and helped us load more effectively.
Here are some lessons we learned from this experience:

1. Be extra cautious when the situation has unfamiliar components. The job we were doing was way bigger and more complicated than any we had done before.
2. Always train first. We should have trained our crew on how to load the truck properly before loading the truck. This would have made the crew more efficient and safer way to  handle the workload, and we might have also avoided the on-site injury.
3. Be pro-active. Injuries happen but they can also be prevented. This includes everything from ensuring the team has the right tools and safety equipment and having the guys working in tandem to safely complete all activities. More importantly this means implementing the training procedures and coaching (both in the locker room and on the field) necessary to perform job duties correctly when hiring your first employees.
4. Always confirm the details. Sometimes items can be overlooked but sometimes items can be “thrown in” by the client last minute. This is why we confirm and re-confirm all the details associated with the job by the client, especially with large commercial jobs.

In business there are many challenges and a lot of them are truly unforeseen. However, you can always be more prepared and resilient when such incidents arise. Pay close attention to your operation and ask people on the ground level what they see, need and want.  Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Nick Friedman is President and Co-Founder of COLLEGE HUNKS HAULING JUNK, the largest and fastest growing US-Based junk removal franchise opportunity. He was recently named one of the Top 30 Entrepreneurs in America Under 30 by INC Magazine and is an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist.


The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs.  The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to youth unemployment and underemployment and provides its members with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of a business’s development and growth.

Read more: http://theyec.org/business-beginnings-how-i-handled-my-first-unforeseen-disaster/#ixzz1fDycFyvt

Startup Financial Models: Best Practices in Spreadsheet Design

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written David Teten, ff Venture Capital | Nov. 8, 2011, 11:14 PM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

While some entrepreneurs may think that financial models are just a formality that needs completing in order to placate straight-laced venture capital types, the reality is that models can be essential tools for creating and analyzing the roadmap an entrepreneurial venture should follow.  As soon as you’ve figured out the general area in which you’re building a business, you should have at least a simple model. 

I know some people will ask, “Did Mark Zuckerberg build a financial Facebook?”  The answer is, almost certainly not.  But then again, very few of us will cofound a billion-dollar company which gets massive traction on day 1.  A lot of entrepreneurs waste time and energy on companies which they don’t understand are destined to fail; one of the reasons for that is that they haven’t done any basic financial analysis.  In particular, if you talk with VCs, they’re going to want to at least get comfort that you know the value of the key variables that drive your business, e.g., advertising rates.

A well-designed financial model has a clear purpose, flows intuitively from inputs to final outputs, is well documented, and is easy to use and read.  (There are obvious parallels with how to write code.)

Given those objectives, I've compiled a list of the best practices in spreadsheet design. I've tried to summarize the most useful and easily achievable steps, so that even casual users can start making their spreadsheets more valuable without delving into macros or VBA programming.

Purpose of a Model
A financial model should be a virtual re-creation of the actual business. A good model should have the ability to test assumptions in order to analyze the impact on future financial performance, including growth rates, operating margins, product lines/individual segments, and refinancings/recapitalizations. The purpose of the model should directly influence how you think about its design and functionality.

An Effective Model
The effective model should be realistic and be backed by reasonable, defensible assumptions and projected performance. It should have adaptable and dynamic schedules and should be easy-to-follow. An effective model should be modular and have a logical cascade, so that anyone can audit the drivers.

Atomize.
It's sometimes tempting to drive towards a final answer by hard-coding numbers inside a formula, but in reality, doing so destroys a lot of the potential value in your model and prevents it from transforming into a tool (which every good model should aspire to be). Therefore, always atomize your formulas.Extract all the inputs from each formula -- those should be the only hard-coded elements in your model.

Standardize.
The test of a model's quality can be determined by how easily it can be used or recycled by another person. Therefore, the more you're able to standardizeelements of the spreadsheet design, the more likely it is to stand up under a variety of use cases. Consistency of a model will make your model more understandable and easier to construct. Make sure the model is easy to follow for yourself as well as for others.

The standard design elements I use:

-       Color-code your inputs as blue, formula cells as black; references from another schedule or worksheet as green and warnings to another user/links to another model as red.
-       Use exact figures.  Excel can easily round for you  according to your specified format.
-       Never input the same number twice – let Excel flow and be dynamic.
-       Don’t embed inputs in formals; instead, break out inputs into separate line items.
-       In tables, try to structure them so that you have only one formula per row or column, so that a single formula can be copied across or down en masse.  This constraint may take some thought to work around, but it's so worth it when you need to make changes and know that all you need to do is copy straight across.
-       If you're using multiple worksheets, use each column for the same purpose, e.g., Columns D-G in all the tabs are equal to the next four calendar quarters.
-       Include as many Checksums as possible.  Sometimes the idiot against whom you need to idiot-proof your model is, in fact, you.
-       Add cell comments to “leave a paper trail” and to highlight where you have follow-up questions.  However, I dislike using the 'comment' feature, because these comments don't print well and are often overlooked and accidentally deleted.  Instead, i'll set up a column where people can see my comments.
-       Calculation settings should be set to: (1) “Automatic except tables” (if “Manual” is checked); (2) “Iteration” should be checked (default settings typically fine: “maximum iterations” = 100, “maximum change” = 0.001).  A circular model will not calculate if iterations are unchecked.
-       If possible, stress test each of your assumptions
-       To maximize efficiency, you must learn the  basic keyboard shortcuts.  A sure sign of an inefficient worker is someone who uses the mouse heavily when in Excel or Word, instead of using keyboard shotrcuts.
-       Make formatting consistent and nice – sloppy formatting will certainly give the  impression that your analytics are also sloppy.

Summarize.
Finally, create a summary sheet that contains key statistics, assumptions, and outputs from the model. Include a documentation section that notes who developed the model, who last edited it, key assumptions, and which version is currently being used.

Read more: http://www.teten.com/blog/2011/11/09/startup-financial-models-best-practices-in-spreadsheet-design/#ixzz1fDvxpKpB

Google + For Businesses: At Long Last, It’s Here

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written Small Business Trends | Nov. 8, 2011, 10:12 PM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above. 

After much anticipation, we’re finally seeing Google + Pages for business. They function much like Google personal profiles do: you can update your status, add people to Circles, host video Hangouts (video conferences) with others, and interact with other brands and people.

The Official Google Blog says:

“For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face.”

The first feature is called Direct Connect.  If you are searching on Google for a brand, simply put the + symbol before your search term to find the direct link to the company’s Google + Page (if they have one). You’ll automatically follow the company by searching with the new “+ company name” if you choose this option, and be taken to its Google + Page.

The other feature is simply that Google + Pages (and Profiles) appear in Google search. In searching my own name, my Profile was the first result. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not.  But at the very  least, if you regularly update your Profile, it seems like a good way to connect with other Google + users.

There are a few drawbacks at this early stage of Google +. One is the lack of vanity URLs. Right now, your profile URL looks like this: https://plus.google.com/u/1/112445753792040250232/posts.  I’m sure Google will get around to putting in user names or brand names in this, but for now, it’s unsightly.  And long and non-user-friendly.

Google + Pages are also lacking analytics, and I’m sure that will be addressed as well.  But for now, I want to know why I should put more effort into using Google +, and analytics are a great way to convince me.

Looks To Buy For

The original article is from http://www.fastcompany.com
Written BY Martin LindstromMon Nov 7, 2011

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.


Some years ago one of my friends, a former photographic model, decided to participate in a documentary that set out to study the advantages enjoyed by the more attractive people in our society. Part of the process involved her dressing down, changing her posture, and adopting a surly, scowling demeanor. Her job was to engage others in helping and supporting her in a variety of situations. She would then transform back into her normal impeccable self and attempt to replicate this exercise.
What did she experience? As a dowdy shadow of her usual self, she only managed to enlist two out of 15 people to help her. But as soon as her usual gorgeous self re-emerged, 12 out of 15 were more than willing to offer whatever assistance she required. The only difference between the two scenarios was her looks.

An interesting conclusion and, now, a scientifically proven fact. Last week, four scientists from the University of British Columbia published a paper on just how willing we are to open even our most private doors to people of beauty. The Canadian academics used hotornot.com; a site designed to sort the beautiful from the not-so-beautiful people. Then, targeting Facebook, they used the "Hottest" photos when they created 102 robots--or "bots"--whose sole mission was to infiltrate the pages of 5,053 random subscribers to the social media site. Initially, 19% of cases accepted the bots, but when the bots changed tactics and plugged into friend networks, the uptake rose to 59%.

Are we really that fickle? It appears so. As such, we should have no trouble at all imagining an outrageously good-looking woman managing to infiltrate an "enemy" network as in, say, a James Bond scenario. After all, this was the downfall of a disaffected Israeli nuclear technician by the name of Mordechai Vanunu. In 1986, he approached the British press with details of Israel's nuclear program. Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, immediately sprang into action. They sent a beautiful, blonde woman to seduce him. Before he knew it, he was kidnapped, whisked out of England and taken back to Israel, where he was charged with treason.

Seductive beauty, however, is only part of the story. Our ability to imitate people's behavior seems to have an equally powerful influence on us. Over the years, a range of studies has shown that we are predisposed to people who imitate our behavior. Take for example, an experiment carried out at Duke University, which involved conducting studies around the globe. The results showed that a person's trust and likeability increased when their personal gestures, like head movements, arm positions, and seating posture, were correctly mimicked.

Taking this one step further, researchers infiltrated Second Life, the online virtual world where users--or "residents"--interact with one another through avatars. By placing avatars designed to mimic the customer (or resident) in the game's retail shopping stores, the interaction was firstly extended by several minutes, but they also noticed a significant increase in revenue.

Unpublished preliminary research shows that it doesn't stop here. In fact, the words and phrases we use subconsciously will affect us if the person we're dealing with chooses to mirror our speech. In other words, if you tend to use words like "awesome" or "freaking idiot," and the person you're communicating does likewise, you're more likely to think you're more of one mind and, so, trust levels rise--the sense of camaraderie is established after sharing just a few short words or phrases.
Scientifically, this could be explained by nerve cells called mirror neurons. It's a phenomenon more commonly termed "monkey see, monkey do." Think about something as simple as a yawn; one person's big inhalation of air quickly spreads to the next. Several fMRI studies show that the person observing has a physical sensation of performing the task. This may go some way to explain why watching sports is one of our most enjoyable pastimes. Not only are we observing elite athletes on a field, but we tend to become so involved that we also feel as much a part of the action as those on the field.

The world of perception and persuasion is quite simply far more powerful than we think. Imagine for a moment an avatar bot, designed to be immensely attractive, that imitates your gestures, uses your expressions, and simulates your moves. It's likely the researchers from Canada would be recording a far greater conversion rate than their already large 59%.

Even though we're reluctant to admit it, we're hardwired to be selfish. We tend to be attracted to attractive people, whose beauty might reflect well on us, not to mention the possibility of creating beautiful children. This aspect of human nature will pave the way for sophisticated bots to come into our lives and harvest our personal details--be it our favorite ice-cream flavor or our email address.
Next time someone seriously good-looking asks to be your friend, seriously consider whether you're willing to accept, or reject. Either way, you stand to lose.

JAMES ALTUCHER: How To Create Your Own Luck

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written James Altucher, The Altucher Confidential | Nov. 8, 2011, 5:56 PM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

1) Luck is similar to “being at the right place at the right time”. So you can easily position yourself there. We know that the right place for right now is somewhere in social media. There are still many niches (plumbers, diamond wholesalers, etc) that aren’t properly using social media correctly. The big agencies are ignoring them and they are too small and focused to understand how to use direct marketing via social media.

If I were starting a business right now I’d either do lead generation via social media for a small but focused niche (diamond wholesalers, small restaurants, etc) or I’d provide financing/lending for companies that are doing this and have established records of turning profits on money spent. I know several companies doing the above but it’s an incredibly wide open, gaping hole in the industry.
If I were a banker I’d look to buying companies all over the country in this space and then bringing the combined entity public in the IPO boom that’s about to start happening.

2) My venture firm being sold I learned one thing: have at least one partner who is a great negotiatior. “Be bad” and someone will be willing to buy you usually doesn’t work. I was lucky there. Although, I will say, I had good, professional partners that knew how to negotiate very well. The one guy’s main technique was to act like we always had alternatives when we never did. And he would ignore the other party for a day or so while they got desperate. It’s a gutsy way to negotiate but it worked. Here’s part of the reason it didn’t work out for me as a big VC.

3) The mental health facility I sold I learned some very important things. Quantity, persistence,  and story-telling. You need to hit everyone and then call everyone back twice. We must’ve made 30 calls and then 30 follow-ups to make sure we spoke with the right person. And then with each person we pushed to have a phone call with the company. Then once we had a potential buyer on the phone we had to make sure we told at least three different stories: how the company doing (and was going to do ), the reasons why growth was a LOCK, and the reasons why management was incredible. Then we got the deal done.Which was a story unto itself. (Here’s my prior post on TechCrunch on how to best sell a company).

4) Stockpickr, as I mentioned before was a matter of being both proactive, and having friends in the right places. But it also was a matter of vigilance. I had a particular passion about how a financialcommunity could develop with NO NEWS. I hate the news. It also was a matter of nourishing relationships built up over a five year period of non-stop work in the financial media space.

So here’s how you “Create your luck”:


A) As Wayne Gretzky says, “skate to where the puck is going”. Don’t start a soft drink company competing against Coca-Cola. Start a company in a fast growing industry that has a wide-gaping hole in it. It’s not hard to identify those industries and holes.

B) If you can’t create the company in that space, can you arrange financing for companies in that space through some of the techniques roughly described above. This still allows you to leverage in the growth of the sector.

C) Learn how to negotiate.


D) Quantity. You’re never going to win if you depend on one potential buyer or one potential customer. The first time I tried to sell my company, Reset, I tried to sell it to HBO. I had only one potential buyer. No good and it didn’t work out. But that god because the next time I tried I made sure I had ten potential buyers. Ever since then I almost get a reflux reaction in my stomach when I realize I’m back down to the one buyer-one customer model, which is never good.

E) Persistence. When we were selling the mental health facility there was one time we got a wrong number when we called a public company. We got switched to the wrong person in the company repeatedly. My business partner, Dan, kept calling until he finally convinced the operator she was connecting him to the wrong person. This was one of only 30 companies he was calling so he could’ve just left a message and given up. Instead he got her one the phone eventually and she was the one who coughed up $41.5 million in cash, three times the closest other offer.

F) Story-telling. Everyone is a little boy or girl at heart. We all want to sit on the floor and bounce a ball and watch Saturday morning cartoons. A story has a beginning, middle, and end. Make sure your story is down pat when you are talking with anyone about your idea, your company, your self (on a date, for instance). It doesn’t have to be so “planned”. But make sure you are constantly improving your storytelling abilities. For instance, before I gave a talk last week in Arizona I watched 30 minutes of Ellen Degeneres and Jon Stewart. Comedians are excellent story-tellers with perfect timing.

G) Nourish relationships. The size of your network increases your luck exponentially. But
relationships take Time to nourish. When I wrote here two weeks ago about “the 9 Skills for Becoming a Super Connector” I mentioned that I forgot what “Time” was for one my list. Now I know: over time relationships get nourished. A simple connection becomes a friend, becomes family, becomes someone who actively wants you to succeed. That takes weeks/months/years to happen. Important to note: expressing gratitude across your network is the surest way to strengthen it.

H) Passion. Luck will ALWAYS follow your passion. Warren Buffett was, of course, extremely luck that his passion was investing in 1950. But almost every passion can be used to make money if you have all of the above. Even if your passion is just “how do I meet the love of my life” and you apply all of the above you will “get lucky”, so to speak, and find success at your endeavor.

Read more: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jamesaltucher/~3/w2MgQDMgkpg/#ixzz1ewYSRFZ5

What Productivity Really Is?

The original article is from http://www.businessinsider.com
Written Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software | Nov. 7, 2011, 11:45 AM

If you want to read more, please refer to the link above.

I think it’s a concept that grew up with the industrial revolution. Productivity was measured as factory work, in units produced per hour. Visualize finished cars flowing out of the assembly line. Later I saw Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By on the Harvard Business Review, by Tony Schwartz. These myths are also about productivity. I really enjoyed his myth number two:

Myth #2: A little bit of anxiety helps us perform better.

Which he tears apart elegantly with this: The more anxious we feel, the less clearly and imaginatively we think, and the more reactive and impulsive we become. But my favorite of Tony Schwartz’ myths is his number four:

Myth #4: The best way to get more work done is to work longer hours. No single myth is more destructive to employers and employees than this one. The reason is that we’re not designed to operate like computers — at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time. Instead, human beings are designed to pulse intermittently between spending and renewing energy. Great performers — and enlightened leaders — recognize that it’s not the number of hours people work that determines the value they create, but rather the energy they bring to whatever hours they work.

As technology changes the world, physical presence is no longer the same as work presence. I can be sitting at a desk in my office and miles away, and that’s much, much easier now than it used to be. So how do we measure productivity?

I think we have to look for results. Numerical results. Measure productivity by outcome, not input.

Office Politics 101 C

The original article is from http://www.forbes.com
Written  April Dykman, Contributor



Dealing with bad office politics
It can be difficult to stay positive if you feel like you’re living in an episode of The Office, but there are ways to deal with bad politics. Here are some tactics to deal with the negative:

• Don’t participate in the telephone game. Gossip will inevitably reach your cubicle, but ask yourself if there’s any credibility to the rumors. Whether there is or there isn’t, don’t pass it on. People who enjoy gossip usually only have half the story, and taking part is a sure way to wind up with your foot in your mouth.
• Get to know the people who practice bad politics. Instead of distancing yourself from them, as I once did, get to know these people better. Try to understand their motivations and goals to work more harmoniously with them (or at least avoid being in the crossfire as much as possible). Be polite, but be careful about what you say, too, which brings us to the next point…
• Watch what you say “in confidence.” Most things said in confidence will get out, usually starting with “I’m not supposed to say anything, but…” Disclose at your own risk. I tried to be professional and polite to everyone I worked with, but there were very few coworkers I trusted. Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can trust them with your confidential information.
• Want to give someone a piece of your mind? Keep it to yourself. You might think it would feel good to “put someone in their place,” but it comes at a steep price. You’ll lose a potential ally (the target of your rage), and you’ll be viewed as unprofessional and difficult, which will affect future promotions.
• When all else fails, keep documentation. Sometimes you’ll encounter a particularly difficult person. If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate but necessary to keep records in case the situation escalates or winds up in human resources. Again, keep it to yourself. The last thing you want is for your coworker to hear that you’re keeping a file on them — that’s a quick way to make a bad situation worse.

Office Politics 101 B

The original article is from http://www.forbes.com
Written  April Dykman, Contributor

Network up and down. Politicians go on the road to meet “the people,” and you have to do the same, but within your company. For example, I had a department head who weighed in on my evaluation, but I had no interaction with this person. Once again my favorite supervisor had the perfect solution: find a project that will get you some face-time. She helped me get in on a project in which the  head of the department was involved, and I was able to make a favorable and direct impression.

Find a mentor (or two). If you don’t already have one, make it your goal to find a mentor in the next two weeks. I had a couple of them at my last job, and they helped me navigate difficult personalities; look for solutions when I needed a sounding board; and check my e-mails for sarcasm (priceless if, like me, sarcasm comes as naturally as exhaling). Most people like to help others — just be sure to come to him or her with a problem and a few possible solutions. Your mentor isn’t there to listen to you complain or to solve all of your problems for you.

Take initiative. Start something new, even if it’s just a fun thing for your coworkers to do together. Some of my coworkers organized yoga-at-work classes during lunch, fundraising activities, and office holiday celebrations. It doesn’t have to be something that increases revenue to show leadership and team-building skills. (Although if you can identify a way to increase revenue, by all means, go for it!)

Overcome your fear of speaking up. Many people have good ideas, but they’re afraid of being shot down or of what might happen if the idea bombs. But participation is an important part of good office politics. It shows that you’re engaged and thinking of solutions. If you’re too scared to speak up, talk to your mentor about ways to present your ideas at the next meeting or try joining a speaking group, such as Toastmasters.

Look for ways to look good. And not only ways to make yourself look good, but find ways to make your team, your boss, and your company look good. For example, I knew a designer who entered every design contest she could. If the company paid her entry fee, she entered something. She tried to get her coworkers to enter, too, but if one declined, she’d enter a second design into the contest. When she’d win one, it made her look good, and it made her design team and department look good, which in turn made her boss look good. And every boss wants to look good.

Think about the best interest of the team or company. Before asserting your opinion or arguing your case, ask yourself who will benefit. Are you against change because you don’t want to take the time to learn something new, even though it’ll improve a system? Think big-picture and beyond your immediate desires. When a disagreement starting going downhill, try to get the group to refocus on the big picture.

Be positive. This isn’t always easy. Believe me, I’ve never been accused of being Little Miss Sunshine. But the people who constantly complain and play the victim are no fun to be around. People will start avoiding you, even if what you say has some merit. One coworker and I had a routine to deal with tough days at the office: We’d meet at the picnic tables for lunch and spend the first 10 minutes or so venting, then we’d move on and discuss anything but work. Sometimes it’s cathartic to get things off your chest, but it doesn’t lead to positive solutions, so don’t dwell on it. You want a reputation as a problem-solver, not a whiner.