The Leading Edge - Spring 2010 - PKF - 17

briefs

iMMigRanTS haVe enTRePReneuRiaL SPiRiT
Immigrants in America are more likely than native-born U.S. residents to be college graduates, inventors, patent holders and entrepreneurs. And they tend to take bold yet savvy business risks, according to the new book Immigrant, Inc. by Robert Smith and Richard T. Herman. Here are some characteristics of immigrants they say offer lessons for all of us. • Keen sense of adventure: Become an “outsider” by traveling and living abroad. You might see opportunities others miss. • Reverence for education: Seek life-long education. Enroll in continuing education at a local college or through online courses. • Eagerness to collaborate: Find the very best and team up. Achieving success often requires tremendous collaboration. • Tolerance for risk and failure: Make some big bets in your business and professional career. Immigrants and entrepreneurs both tend to take calculated risks and learn from failures. • Passion, often borne of desperation: Act like you have nothing to fall back on and work like your life depends on it. • Tendency to dream: Above all, dream big. Immigrants remind us that the American dream is alive and well. e

SOCiaL Media MuST-dOS
The Online Marketing Blogger from Top Rank Online Marketing asked experts for their “Must-Read Social Media Marketing Tips” and posted 25 of them at http:// tinyurl.com/25socialmediamktgtips. Charlene Li, founder of The Altimeter Group and best-selling author of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, offered these tips: • Never forget that groundswell is about person-toperson activity. You are not speaking as the company but as a person. Practice your social media voice so it feels comfortable. • Be a good listener. Let people know you are listening. • Be patient. Social media takes a long time because you are going to be transforming your company, one person at a time. • Be opportunistic. Start small with the people who are most passionate about building relationships with customers. • Be flexible. You never know what’s going to happen so you have to constantly adjust your thinking and learn. • Be collaborative. You need people from up and down the management chain to buy in. • Most importantly, be humble. Remember that you are not as powerful as the groundswell. If you forget this, they will let you know. Other social media experts from Dell, Comcast, HP, Home Depot, General Mills, Ford, UPS, Wells Fargo and prominent marketing firms also share their insight at http://tinyurl.com/25socialmediamktgtips. e

BuSineSS COnTinuiTy PLanS Can heLP PROFiTS
Although business continuity plans sometimes take a low priority on an overwhelmingly long to-do list, they can play an integral role in a company’s success beyond their intended purpose, according to Eric Pitcher, vice president of technology strategy at CA Inc. Pitcher writes in Disaster Recovery Journal about how companies should use their business continuity plans to their extended advantage. Among his recommendations: Use your business continuity plan as a sales differentiator. Your sales team can offer your organization’s business continuity plan as evidence the company is wellprepared. Having the conversation gets the sales person in front of the client and opens up the opportunity to create or strengthen trust in an environment when most purchases are scrutinized more than ever before. Identify insurance reduction opportunities. Be prepared to have your finance department share sanitized versions of the plan, demonstrate testing and report results so insurance providers can consider appropriate discounts. Verify suppliers have valid and tested business continuity plans as one more way to reduce your company’s risks. Use the knowledge gained in business continuity planning to analyze company operations, including workforce reductions as necessary. To read Pitcher’s full article on DRJ Online visit http://tinyurl.com/ profitbcplan. e

The Leading edge

The Leading Edge - Spring 2010 - PKF

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Spring 2010 - PKF