Leadership. What happened to Leadership in the Corporate World?

There is a lot of talk today about the inequality between the rich and the poor especially in some of the large cities such as Boston, Miami or San Francisco.  The same concept can apply at the typical corporate company.  Corporate executives seem out of touch with their employees.  They are great at reading reports and look at their employees as numbers or even operational expenses versus investments in the future of their company. 

The "workabees", you know the ones that do the day-to-day work, trudge through their day with no inspiration to work hard.  Typically, they would have to look outside of their jobs for inspiration whether it is reading a great book from Tony Robbins or attending an event with entrepreneurs or even through their church.

The problem today is that most executives are simply not exciting.  They wear a suit, drive a BMW, and have no idea what their teams do.   This is a fact.  It hurts and it is blunt, but it is true.  What do you think the problem is?  Do you think they are too busy thinking about EBITDA and not about inspiring their team to be ambitious, think outside of the box and participate in helping their company succeed?   If you said yes, you are right.

There are leaders that set great examples, are extroverts, and are regularly seen "in the trenches" with their team.   The leaders that led those companies experience much higher retention and success in their field.  These leaders write books, network at events and are interested in people, not balance sheets.  They walk the floor and are able to have conversations with anyone on their team and know a thing or two about them outside of work.   This type of relationship goes a long way since the employee feels valued and will do anything for their leader.    Unfortunately,  real leaders are few and far between.

So what do you think the problem is?   Are leaders trained to be authoritative? or to be mentors?  Are they trained to be anything at all?  The missing link is that most executives are simply lacking the communication skills to be able to motivate and adapt to the teams that they run.  These same executives are also run companies that are hurting, going out of business or are getting bought.  There is always constant change, and not for the better.    Talk about no motivation.

As someone that is looking to always be inspired, I suggest using tools like LinkedIn or Glassdoor to see what people are saying about the leadership at their company.  If they feel inspired and valued, then you know it may have something to do with the leadership at that company.   Always remember, a company's success always starts at the top.  Don't waste your time at any company run by out of touch executives.   Make the most of your career with real leaders guided your way to success.

15 Business Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs and Your Career

15 Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs and Your Career

I was not a born business networking professional. But in 2007, after working at Staples in IT for 8 years, I started thinking about my next move. After meeting entrepreneurs at Northeastern University Alumni Networking events, I became interesting in networking and helping others and then became inspired to start my own business.

What I learned is that all entrepreneurs have to network to build their client base.   There is only so much you can do online, so it is time to go offline and get out there.

Here are tips to help you get the most from business networking events.

1 Think of networking as a means of making friends. Your mission is to forge human connections. Some of my best friends today are people I’ve met through networking.

2 Be there to help others. Think about what you can offer in the way of solutions to someone else’s problem. In my health and wellness business, I wait for someone to say, “I feel tired all the time” or “I wish I could lose 10 pounds” before describing my business.

3 Have a plan before you arrive. Note who’s registered online to attend, and read a little about them to grease the conversation. Look for interests you can talk about—sports, current events, their college, where they were born. Steer clear of politics and money. Stay positive. Don’t bring up the latest airline crash or global warming doom and gloom.

4 Craft a 30-second elevator pitch, but never offer it unless you’re asked about what you do. I like to say ‘I do a lot of things. I’m an IT director. I’m also an entrepreneur who oversees social media anddigital marketing for small businesses. I’m a health and wellness coach, too. I do three jobs. I don’t get much sleep!’”

5. Focus on others. I don’t care if you have a winning lottery ticket in your hand, people will shut down if you make you the focus of conversation. Hand out your business card only if people ask for it or express interest in talking further.

6 If you’re apprehensive about networking, bring someone with you who knows the ropes. Pay attention to how they speak to and interact with people to learn what works. They can introduce you and break the ice. Later, invite their candid feedback to help you up your game.

7 If you’re looking for a job, don’t ask about current openings. Instead, learn about a company by asking questions like, “What kinds of new projects is your company working on right now? Tell me about your organization. What are the major issues or pain points in your industry?” You can then say, “Oh yes, we’ve had that same challenge. Here’s what we did.” In that way, you can promote your experience and expertise.

8 After 5 or 10 minutes, move on. You’re there to meet new people, so save an in-depth conversation later.

9 Follow up—the most important part of networking. After an event, connect with that person on social media. I invite people to “LinkedIN,” especially if they’re an Northeastern grad. Then I’ll propose a face-to-face meeting in a neutral place, such as a coffee shop.

10 Strive to build trust. Networking is like dating, only for business. People won’t do business with you unless they trust you, so listen carefully about what they do and need. As they say in sales, it takes 7 touches before you have a transaction, so take pains to lay the grounds for a relationship.

11 Network when you don’t need to network. Make networking a habit—a routine part of your life. Networking is a numbers game. Finding new clients is largely a function of how many people you know.  Don’t wait until you’re desperate for new clients or a job.

12 On LinkedIn, don’t underestimate the importance of your second-level connections. No matter how many first-level connections you may have, you’ll have many more second-level ties.

13 Be choosy about who you LinkedIn with. Your connections should mean something. Beware of “LIONs,” short for LinkedIn Open Networkers. Numbers are all they care about.

14 If you’re tongue-tied, consider joining Toastmasters. I used to be an “ummm” person. I knew that to be able to do my sales pitch, I had to practice. After giving speeches and presentations at Toastmasters, a support group where you learn public speaking, you can wing a conversation about practically anything.

15 Enjoy your widening circle of contacts. Networking opened my mind to opportunities I’d never thought of before. It can do the same for you.

AIMC Health Tip - #Fitness - What To Do With A Couple of Dumbbells 2019 ...

AIMC Business Entrepreneur – Opportunity – Unfranchise Owner

We are looking to partner with successful professionals that can help evaluate our Unfranchise Business and be able to provide a referral of a qualified business professional to partner with our team in our growing organization of entrepreneurs based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Our candidate profile/qualifications:

- Based the United States.

- Previous sales experience (direct sales experience a plus)

- Are teachers, trainers or coaches or simply inspire to help others succeed.

- Owns or have owned a business in the past and understands business operations

- Entrepreneurial and has a great business mind and is open to opportunity.

- Positive mindset and likes being around positive successful people.

- Relationship builder and a connector/social butterfly/ knows a lot of professional people. Understands social media and how to connect with the right people.

- Is looking to make extra money residually to help support their personal/financial goals.

- Are financially stable or are looking to become financially stable.

- Can commit to a part-time business alongside their day commitments.

- Can commit at least 8 hours per week toward building their own business alongside their other commitments (day job/ family etc.). The commitment would include trainings, including some out-of-state.

About our Company:

- 27 year old company based in North Carolina with an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and the only Two time Torch Award winner w/ BBB ever for ethics, integrity and performance.

- Internet Marketing and Product Brokerage Business w/ opportunities in the following divisions – Cosmetics/Skin Care –Health/Wellness – Digital Marketing/Business Services – Financial Services

- Creator of the Shopping Annuity which is a revolutionary concept that helps smart shoppers convert their spending into earning through SHOP.COM.

- Ideal opportunity for Fitness Trainers/ Health Professionals/ Spa-Salons/ Stay-at-home Parents, Teachers or any other professional with fluctuating income over the course of the year.

Next steps:

- If you know of a qualified candidate or are qualified yourself, contact Jeff at jeff@aimcbizsolutions.com to set up a call to learn more and discuss collaboration opportunities and join the AIMC Business Entrepreneur Facebook Page. We look forward to meeting you.

How To Score a Rocking Linkedin Profile - Cheat Sheet

 

How To Score A Rocking LinkedIn Profile – Cheat Sheet

By Jeffrey DeSocio – AIMC Business Solutions/Mass Professional Networking

u  So What If You Had No LinkedIn Profile at all?  The World Before LinkedIn.

u Why Should You Care About Your LinkedIn Profile?

u  Clients & Co-Workers Are Checking You Out

u  Potential Employers & Employees Are Checking You Out

u  Potential Job Leads

u  Build Relationships

u Some LinkedIn Statistics

u  Over 500 Million People Use LinkedIn

u  40% of LinkedIn Users Login Every Day

u  41% of millionaires use LinkedIn

u  122 Million People got an interview from their Linked Profile

u  91% of Marketing Executives List LinkedIn as the top place to find quality content

u  80% of leads come from LinkedIn versus 13% from Twitter and 7% from Facebook

u Eight Tips for Scoring a Rocking LinkedIn Profile

u  A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words – Be Professional & Smile

u  Your Headline is Your Future – Your Expertise

u  Your Summary is Your Story to Tell – Results You Deliver – Call to Action

u  Experience is Not Your Resume – Focus on What Impact You Have Had

u  Get Specific and Use Facts – Set Yourself Apart from Others

u  Highlight Your Leadership – State Accomplishments

u  Flaunt Yourself – Show Certifications – Publish Content – Share Interests

u  Grow Your Network – Join Groups – Connect – Follow Companies

Need more guidance to kick-start your LinkedIn Profile?  Ask us about the “Networking & Personal Branding Toolkit” by contacting us via email at jeff@aimcbizsolutions.com.   Also join Mass Professional Networking on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Spring Into Summer - Getting Healthy and Feeling Awesome w/ TLS

AIMC Health Solutions

FITNESS – DIET – SUPPLEMENTATION – EDUCATION

http://www.aimchealthsolutions.com

Introducing Our Spring into Summer Program

Are you ready to feel and look amazing this summer?

AIMC Health Solutions is looking to coach 25 people who are ready to lose unwanted fat by starting a 21-Day TLS Challenge within the next 3 weeks to get healthy and feel amazing as we move into the summer season.

Our program is a lifestyle program, not a diet, so you will be eating real and fresh foods that you can buy right at your local store.  You can exercise either at home or at your local gym.   We will provide you science-based supplementation to support what your body actually needs to optimize your results.   You will also get online education that will take only a short time each week to do.  You can then look forward to losing weight, inches, body fat and bloat, while gaining energy, looking great and feeling better.

To get started, first check out our TLS Weight Loss website at http://www.aimchealthsolutions.com and create a profile.  

Then go to “About TLS” and take a Weight Loss Profile at https://bit.ly/2xMSYUc.   

This will help us understand what the best next steps are to help you feel great and be healthy!  We will schedule some time with you to review results and then get you started!

In the meantime, we also have an overview of our TLS Program via Zoom Online.   Check the AIMC Health Solutions Facebook Page for the next event.

Thanks,

Jeff D. – AIMC Health Solutions

jeff@aimcbizsolutions.com

The Day Facebook Went Down - So What Can You Do?

Today was not a good day for Facebook and Instagram.   Its nearly two billion users day-to-day operation of posting, engaging and enraging came to a halt due to the multiple technical issues with the Facebook and Instagram platforms.  There was specific issues with slowness, posting links and some cases, simply logging in.   Considering how much much Facebook has invested in high availability and software, this is a big one.  It is amazing how consumed we are all are with social media, you would think we lost electricity or survival food.  This can't happen.   So what did we do back in 1995?

Anyway, since my business revolves around social media whether it is working with my clients, or interacting with my connections promoting my networking events or products and services, I started to think about the world outside of Facebook, and realized that there are other social media platforms that are pretty cool, very effective and contain much less drama.

So I pulled out my smartphone and started to go through my applications and I found some pretty cool social media alternatives to Facebook.   So here we go. 

Shapr - Yes, this is a new one which is sort of a dating meets professional networking application.   I have met some successful professionals on this site and it does a good job matching you with people you like to meet and do business with.  The key is when you make a connection, is to follow-up and take the next step.   If there is not an immediate need, I request to connect this person on Linkedin for future potential.

Which brings me to Linkedin, the ultimate professional network.   Linkedin is my favorite social media platform and it is truly the place to inspire, educate and engage with professionals.  When Facebook is down and you want to get serious, Linkedin is a great alternative.  You feel like you just listened to a great educational podcast versus some mindset drama on the entertainment channel on Sirrus.  I also recommend using Linkedin to prospect and connect and to share your knowledge and offering value to your connections.

Before Facebook, there was Twitter.  Before Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, there was Periscope, the first true live platform.  Twitter is more real time and you feel closer to your celebrity connections on this platform.   Twitter does not get the credit it deserves because it is still text based versus visual, although that has changed a lot in the past year.  I recommend spending some time on this platform and updating your profile and study what is trending.   Twitter is really enjoying days like today with all the Facebook problems, claiming to its billion users, that is it still here.

Another Social Media Platform that has held its ground is Pinterest, you known the Pin Board.  Pinterest is also a serious platform with lots of great options for education, shopping and visual delight.  I always recommend Pinterest for any business that is selling visual products such as real estate, clothes, food and jewelry to name a few.    Once you are on Pinterest, you realize that you can spend hours on the site and feel like you didn't waste any time feeding through the drama.   I really pin pictures on Pinterest and realized that I now have over 250k visits to my profile a month! 

Finally, I would mention Google+, but that went out of business on February 28th, so I will mention Google's Social Media Site, YouTube.   YouTube is another addictive platform and there could be some drama depending on what you are searching for.  It is an amazing platform for learning and also to share your expertise.   You Tube videos are not as viral for the standard user as Facebook Live videos are, but it is great platform for promoting your brand.   YouTube is still the most important platform for promoting music.   Check out how many views of that Despacito video and you know this site has some power.

So I hope Facebook can figure out its problems today and put everyone at ease that the world is all good.   But always remember, there is always an alternative out there.   I bet the millennials are thinking, what the heck did the old people do before Facebook?   It is same thought we had before electricity was invented.