Maverick Mastery®

The Vice President of an exclusive community for accelerated business networking has lent her support to a new competition to scoop a million pounds worth of coaching and is urging maverick business owners to take action now to build credibility and reputation in preparation for the upturn.

The unique competition, which was officially unveiled at an exclusive press conference at Adam Street last week, offers the chance to win a lifetime’s worth of coaching from international speaker, author and thought leadership expert Mindy Gibbins-Klein a.k.a The Book Midwife® who has just launched her third book 24 Carat BOLD: The Standard for REAL Thought Leaders (£10.99 Ecademy Press).

Judith Germain, Vice President of the BlackStar Life Members Community on popular business social network Ecademy, MD of Dynamic Transitions and an established business mentor and author, has officially endorsed the month-long campaign. Agreeing to sit on the judging panel she reveals that wilfully independent ‘maverick’ business owners are likely to benefit most from the million pound prize as it will help them enhance their natural predisposition to stand out from the crowd.

“Mavericks tend to be top performers but also have a fierce sense of independence, are easily bored and need to be given constant challenges to ensure that they are as productive as they can be. When running a business, be it a global organisation or cottage industry in size, this wilful independence needs to be harnessed effectively to ensure that they can achieve their true potential which is why long-term support is a great way of keeping focused,” says Germain.

With the worst of the recession now over, Germain believes that the pressure is now on for many business owners to get ready to ride the upturn and advises that those who can channel their maverick energy positively to build a good reputation will have a far better chance of succeeding in the long term.

“With the economy improving, business owners need to focus on how they are perceived by people in their outer network (i.e. those that know of them but do not know them well). Mindy’s competition to win a lifetime’s worth of thought-leadership will be an invaluable resource to any Maverick serious about growing their business. I’m a great fan of anything which helps people to build their credibility and reputation and for me, this competition ticks all the right boxes,” says Germain.

The competition will run for one month. There is just one stipulation; you need to have purchased a copy of 24 Carat BOLD: The Standard for REAL Thought Leaders from Amazon during the month of September, which then qualifies you to enter the competition.

Entrants need to forward their Amazon proof of purchase with a statement of up to 15 words on why they deserve a lifetime of thought leadership coaching to emma@bookmidwife.com. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Eligible entries are Amazon purchases dated August and September, closing date is Sept. 30th, with the winner being announced Oct 1st.

Brand reputation is rapidly becoming the ultimate decision maker, but many small businesses are putting their earning capacity at peril by treating social networks as just ‘places to hang out with friends’, according to reputation specialist Judith Germain.

In an internet-led world where consistency is essential and everything that is recorded there is of a permanent nature, Germain claims that many business owners are simply forgetting that social networking sites are places where reputation and credibility is established, maintained and developed, and are not just a place to ‘hang out with friends’.

“Many business owners take a relaxed and whimsical approach to how they network on places like Facebook, which can be quite detrimental to them. Others join business networks and then remain ‘invisible’ to the membership, ignoring the opportunity to enhance their reputation and find advocates for their service,” says Germain, MD of Dynamic Transitions and Vice President of the BlackStar Life Members Community on Ecademy.

In her recent article ‘How to have the right reputation for your business’, which is currently the most liked article on Ecademy, (and originally published in Better Business), Germain reveals that brand perception and delivery is becoming all important for the survival of the business. Although small business owners often have a habit of believing that this isn’t an issue for them, not realising that it can determine whether their business stands out from the crowd and whether they will secure business from the competition. She explains that when businesses have chosen to pursue a pull marketing strategy (especially on a social network) they need to ‘pass through’ a number of stages to ensure that they are building the right reputation to gain advocacy.

“People increasingly buy from those that they know, like and trust, especially where the purchase is service rather than product related. Being credible and having a good reputational (personal) brand is essential, enabling the buyer’s decision-making process to choose you over another business each and every time. Your business strategy needs to incorporate your personal brand, and how you intend to leverage it. Remembering that with pull marketing, people will buy from those that they trust, it is therefore important to create a brand that is trustworthy, and consistent no matter where it is encountered,” says Germain.

Whilst the current economic climate shows no signs of improving in the short term, Germain believes that the increased competition for reduced customer spend has meant that establishing and promoting your competitive advantage has never been so crucial.

“A good, strong and credible reputation is the one thing which can provide you with the superior and sustainable leverage you need to survive the credit crunch, whilst others around you fall by the wayside, and it will not cost you a penny,” says Germain.

Judith Germain is managing director and principal mentor of Dynamic Transitions.; a leadership company specialising in working with Troublesome Talent ® and improving business performance within organisations. You can download their free article ‘How to have the right reputation for your business’ at www.developing-leadership.com/whitepapers.html For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com or email jude@dynamic-transitions.co.uk

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Having an effective networking strategy can make the difference in how quickly you can establish yourself as an expert, attract and retain loyal ‘followers’ and impact on your bottom line, according to reputation specialist Judith Germain.

Germain, MD of Dynamic Transitions and Vice President of The BlackStar LifeMembers Community on social business network Ecademy, suggests that for businesses providing services, it is particularly pertinent to be active on social networking sites where businesses are able to integrate into the community, develop a reputation and establish credibility.

“If your business (and/or yourself) has credibility and a good reputation, it is more likely to be trusted by your potential clients, therefore increasing your revenue and sustainability,” explains Germain, who has created Community Trust Systems™; a concept where products and services are exchanged on the basis of trust that has been conceived and conferred within a trusted community. Peer review and approval becomes the basis that services are bought and reputation is the determinant for selection.

“Many examples of Community Trust Systems™ already exist to buy and sell products, such as Ebay, Amazon and Ecademy. Social Networking sites, as an example of a thriving Services Community Trust System™, are now becoming essential places to establish your reputation and credibility. You cannot be active on these systems as a ‘broadcaster’, constantly talking about yourself or trying to sell your wares. To survive you will need to be having conversations with individuals (not push marketing), providing good quality content and aiming to help those that you are able,” explains Germain.

Germain says that to be an effective networker, you need to understand who is in your network and what relationship they are to you. In a Services Community Trust System™, your network is split into three sections:

# Inner Circle – these are your advocates and close contacts. This is a relatively small number.

# Middle Circle – these are your main referrers and people that you have conversations with. This number may extend into the hundreds.

# Outer Circle – these are people that are aware of your business and what you do personally. Introductions and some referrals take place with these individuals. This number may extend into the thousands.

“In a saturated and depressed marketplace where there appears to be many competitors selling the same service or product, having an effective networking strategy enables all businesses’ (particularly small businesses and consultants) services or products to be advocated. Enabling them to secure more referrals and for the business to cut their marketing costs, increasing their chances of survival,” adds Germain.

Judith Germain is managing director and principal mentor at Dynamic Transitions, a leadership company specialising in working with Troublesome Talent ® and improving business performance within organisations. You can download their free whitepaper ‘Having an effective Networking Strategy is essential for your future’ at www.developing-leadership.com/whitepapers.html

For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com or email jude@dynamic-transitions.co.uk

The CIPD’s new ‘professional map’ has been welcomed by the MD of leadership development company Dynamic Transitions, who claims that HR professionals have no excuse now to start role modelling key behaviours that will underpin future business success.

Having come from a strong operations-focused HR background, Dynamic Transitions’ MD Judith Germain believes that the new ‘map’ should have a profound impact on the way HR is viewed in the business and will increase HR’s power to help the business align the management of people and processes with the needs of the business.

“HR has for a long time been accused of not understanding the business and concentrating too much on admin and transactional activities rather than focusing on what the business needs. This has led to CEOs discounting the value that HR can add and bypassing them when important decisions have to be made. Too often, HR Business Partnering means advising the business of HR’s objectives rather than helping the business meet and exceed its objectives.”

Germain believes that the CIPD is acknowledging that HR needs to be holistic in outlook and specialist in activity. It now recognises that HR needs to have a set of behavioural competencies including being curious, a decisive thinker, driven to deliver, collaborative, personally credible and being a role model.

Germain is delighted that the CIPD is taking a more business orientated approach and predicts that the move towards strategic-led HR will result in a tighter, more integrated approach to managing people across an organisation that will ultimately improve the quality of leadership in the process.

“It is exactly the attributes identified by the CIPD for HR that also make up good leaders. HR therefore, should set an example to the rest of the workforce, especially as it evolves into this more strategic role. By role modelling these key behaviours, HR can help the business move forward,” says Germain.

Judith Germain is managing director Dynamic Transitions a leadership company specialising in working with Troublesome Talent ® and improving leadership performance within organisations. Judith provides strategic mentoring for senior executives and business leaders and delivers innovative leadership programmes, leadership consultancy, training, coaching and mentoring to corporate clients. For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com or email jude@dynamic-transitions.co.uk

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