The Digital Marketing & Productivity Blog of Stephen Murphy

Shut Up and Listen

One of the most common misconceptions about leadership is that you need to be a great speaker. While many of the world’s most influential leaders can command a crowd with their words, it’s what they do with their ears that truly inspires.

The art of listening has been lost in a world of endless tweets, status updates and blogs (cough cough). Much like a drunken party, our society continues to turn up the volume so that we can each have our turn to speak. And this is why being a great listener is such a powerful trait. Everyone wants to be heard, and we flock to the individuals that are willing to listen.

In Bob Burg’s book Endless Referrals, he claims you can have an entire conversation with a stranger without divulging any information about yourself, and still make it memorable. This is accomplished simply by asking the other person a stream of meaningful questions and engaging in their responses as an active listener. I’ve tried this approach myself at many networking events, and soon found myself surrounded by a crowd of eager speakers itching to be heard.

Challenge yourself today to become a more perceptive listener. Ask others how they are doing, what they are feeling, and if they have any ideas they want to share. Open your ears up to others often, and see what kind of impact it makes on your day.

I’m sure you’ll find being a great listener will get you much farther than being a constant broadcaster.

Have you had success letting others do the talking? Share your stories below, I’d love to listen to them!

My 5 Favorite Motivational Quotes

Its tough to stay motivated on a Friday afternoon. The scent of the approaching weekend and the overall lack of office enthusiasm can often distract from your ability to finish out the week strong. To help keep me focused, I’ve decided to write a new motivational quote on my white board each week titled “Murphy’s Laws.” I’m hoping these semi-original, semi-inspirational quotes will give me that little push to end each week on a productive note.

In honor of this new tradition, I’d like to share with you my 5 favorite motivational quotes. Some are well known, and others have just stuck with me over the years.

1. “Things may come to those who wait, but only things left behind by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln (Edit: It’s not really Lincoln, but I’m gonna leave it here because it’s a damn good quote.)

This was introduced to me by one of my close buddies, John Monti, a few years back. I instantly fell in love with this quote, and its one of the mottos of my small business blog. I’ve missed too many opportunities because I have failed to take immediate action, and this gem by Lincoln keeps my priorities straight.

2. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison

Giving up is much easier than finishing up, but the rewards aren’t nearly as lucrative. Once you overcome the initial struggles of getting started, you’ll reap the benefits of your work.

3. “Character is how hard you work when there’s no one looking.” – Coach Rick Gronda

Rick Gronda was my high school wrestling coach in my junior season. Though not as famous as the first two gentlemen mentioned above, he’s just as influential to my life. He taught me that truly successful wrestlers practice hard even when the coaches are working with another teammate at practice. The same concept applies in life and business, as those who work hard all the time are prepared to execute at any time.

4. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky

Fear of rejection and failure affects nearly all of us at some point in our lives. The fact is, we all fail, and we do it repeatedly. Without failure, we would never be successful. Before babies learn to speak, they mumble jibberish. No one picks up a guitar and rips a hendrix solo on their first try. So don’t let fear of failure hold you back, or you’ll never taste the sweet, sweet flavor of success.

5. “It’s a town full of losers, and I’m pullin’ out of here to win.” – Bruce “the Boss” Springsteen

OK, this one sounds a little harsh, but I’m a big Springsteen fan and I wanted to fit it in here somewhere. He basically went from a nobody artist about to be dropped by his label, to an international superstar after the release of Born to Run. Why? Its because Bruce wouldn’t sacrifice quality. Each track needed to be absolutely perfect before going on the album. The bet paid off, and it shows the value of doing things right.

There are so many other quotes that influenced my life, but I’ll save those for another time.

What are your favorite quotes? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

When Simple Is Difficult

Lately I’ve become obsessed with the concept of simplicity. I’ve discarded all the clutter from my bedroom, I wear solid black t-shirts, and I strive to take out all the little details that create mess and confusion in my life. From a professional standpoint, I have attempted to keep all my advertisements and marketing designs simple as well, giving the “consumer” just enough information to understand the message and take the next action.

The problem I’ve encountered is that simplicity isn’t always that simple. From an outsider’s perspective its easy to appreciate a clean, straightforward design. Google’s homepage is beautiful. The iPad turns a consumer product into a fashion statement. But try putting yourself in their shoes for a moment. Google has hundreds of products in its suite, and a vast majority of them aren’t prominently displayed on the home page. The iPad could easily have a camera button, menu button, touchpad and other hot spots to make it more convenient for consumers.

Keeping products and media simple can be a nightmare for designers. On one side of the equation, consumers are looking for clarity without noise. Conversely, companies and brands are afraid of leaving out important details. As the middle man, its an interesting challenge for me to create effective designs that create a mutual satisfaction between both parties. These designs are the ones that result in big results, and are the “high” that all marketers strive to reach.

A New Resolution For 2012

Its the first week of January, and I’m beginning to see the status updates, tweets, and blog posts about everyone’s new years resolutions. They are the grandiose changes that will make all our lives better, slimmer, richer, happier, etc. This is it. This is the year we make those big changes.

Unfortunately, statistics show that more than half of all people who make resolutions fail to follow through with their plan in the first six months, and only 12% of us actually achieve our goals. OK, so maybe I found these numbers in a Wikipedia article, but I’m sure most people can agree with the theory behind them.

The reason so many of us (including yours truly) fail to follow through with our New Year’s resolutions is because of the size and scope of the goals we set. Lose 30 pounds by this summer. Find my future wife. Visit all 50 states in the country. Double my company’s sales for the year. These tasks are complex and difficult to achieve, creating the bloated failure rates cited above.

A New Resolution Every Day

I’d like to propose something that will radically increase your chance of success in 2012. Don’t create one, singular resolution for the year; instead, accomplish one new resolution each day (i.e. researching when to use a semicolon.) Rather than trying to lose 30 pounds, your goal should be to sign up for the gym on the first day. The next day might include monitoring your caloric intake, and on the third day you can walk 1 mile in the morning before work. Each day should have a clearly defined task that can be accomplished without a major investment of time or resources.

Breaking your large projects down into smaller, action-oriented objectives will give you a feeling of success each day, and keep you motivated towards your overall goals. Sports fans already know how powerful momentum can be, and the same concept applies to your personal achievements. Even if you miss a day, it should be relatively easy to get back on track and continue to move forward.

For business owners, this method is an excellent way to build a stronger and smarter company in 2012. Set aside a few minutes in the beginning of your day, after lunch, or before bed to finish your daily goal, and to write down a goal for the next day.

The best thing about this method is that you don’t have to wait until the New Year to start. Right now is the perfect time to take action and complete one task that will get you closer to your goals. Just like the pyramids were built one stone at a time, you can start realizing your goals each day of 2012 and years to come.

Keys To Becoming A G.R.E.A.T. Blogger

There are millions of bloggers around the globe, but only a small fraction can be considered great bloggers. Great bloggers captivate audiences, inspire action, and dictate trends. Though there is no concrete recipe for success, there are a few traits that all great bloggers share:

Genuine:

Speak to your audience with your true voice. This will allow you to communicate clearly and honestly connect with others. Many people can smell a phony from a mile away, so be yourself to be truly successful.

Regular:

Television shows air the same time every week, because routines are easy to follow. Make it easy for your readers to follow your blog by posting often and predictably. Don’t begin writing a post per day and then go missing for a month.

Engaging:

Do your posts invoke conversation? Ask questions and get your audience thinking and reacting. When you engage readers, they will connect with you on a personal level and share your posts with others.

Authoritative:

Be the expert in your field. Don’t just regurgitate news and copy the posts of others. Instead, make your mark by creating original content that displays your knowledge. Try to connect others you know and cement yourself as the go to resource in your industry.

Targeted:

The GREAT bloggers of the world understand fundamental marketing principles. Pick a target market and zero in on them. Address the needs, wants, and desires of your niche and your audience will follow you wherever you choose to take them.

At the end of the day, a great blogger is defined by a great audience. Use the above tips to captivate your readers and keep them coming back for more. At the end of the day you are an educator and leader, and your followers depend on you to be G.R.E.A.T.