BlackBerry Power User, Nan Palmero | How To Master Your BlackBerry

The New Sap, The Dead Leaves

by Nan Palmero on January 8, 2010

Last week, we talked about corporate culture’s existence and it’s potential effects on the people who come into contact with it. There are certainly issues that each organization faces from this culture and the decisions made along the way. An old adage says that the new ascending sap crowds off the dead leaves on the tree. It would be next to impossible to knock all the leaves off with a stick, but the sap can clear them all.

Similarly, you’ll find that with your organization, “dead leaves” have accumulated on the branches. To properly push the new sap through your organization, you’ll have to make the tough decisions. For some, this could mean revamping the vision or purpose of the company, adjusting responsibilities of key players, or possibly, sell the mills a la Kimberly-Clark. What have you done to move the old leaves off the branches? What is keeping you from doing so?

photo by essjaynz

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Communism and Corporate Culture

by Nan Palmero on January 7, 2010

Wenceslas Square | Prague

Recently, my wife and I traveled to Europe. One of our favorite places that we visited was Prague in the Czech Republic. The city was magnificent and we’re dying to return. I did notice a few differences while there and after our return. The most interesting was how quiet the people were while walking in the streets. If you walk San Francisco, New York or San Antonio, you’ll overhear conversations between people at coffee shops, on their cell phones or with the other people walking along. Interestingly, in Prague, even on the busy Wenceslas Square, you primarily heard foot steps and doors opening and closing. Rarely did you overhear conversations. I later found out from my friend, John, that it was rude to ask Czech’s about their lives prior to 1989, before the fall of Communism. Interestingly, Communism also helped shift a city that was formerly the capital of the Holy Roman Empire with some of the most beautiful cathedrals we’d ever seen, to 61% of the population becoming Atheists.

Interestingly, I find that companies are similar. We’ll notice in some companies that people are more matter-of-fact with their way of presenting thoughts and ideas, while others are more diplomatic. In some, the people are chatty, while others, like Dave Ramsey’s company have a no tolerance policy against gossip (one warning, then you’re fired).

Whether you realize it or not, your office and your company has a culture. It may be affected by a leader that is no longer there, but people remember “the good ol’ days” or how they felt when the one person was there that made it miserable for the rest of the team. It’s important to keep this culture in mind especially during hiring. Nearly all new recruits will second guess their decision for coming to work at a new company within the first thirty days. Have you taken a step back to evaluate the culture that your company keeps? Is it one that’s kept with pride? Are there things that need to be changed to better fit the goals of the company?

photo by Ashley Palmero

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Swinging to the Next Vine

by Nan Palmero on January 6, 2010

Whether you choose to listen to music, read books and blogs or just hang out with friends, the story remains the same: it’s the journey and the experience that you should enjoy the most. Interestingly, the older I get, the more I see this and the more I’m also reaching for the next goal. It’s an interesting split trying to appreciate the day to day as we’re driven by the upcoming accomplishment. Not surprisingly, though, once we get there, we feel a sense of relief followed, at least by me, with a sense of concern. I begin to ask “what’s next?” I’m already looking for the next opportunity to move the ball forward, which can become frustrating, scary and exciting all at the same time. Unfortunately, at these moments, when I’m trying to figure out which vine I want to swing to next, I end up missing out on the day to day.

So, I turn to you, my friendly reader. What do you do to ensure that you don’t miss the fun moments along the way when you’re too busy moving to the next adventure to pay attention to the here and now? Do you have a support system that disconnects you from time to time from your future endeavors to help you celebrate the day? Do you mentally make the leap? Share with us in the comments!

Photo: Tarzan by Disney

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Focus Your Lens, Help Others Do The Same

by Nan Palmero on January 5, 2010

In photography, you’ll find endless types of lenses. Interestingly, you can be standing in the exact same spot but different lenses will capture different parts of your subject and each can tell a varied story.

In our lives, we find that people are very similar. Each person is going to approach a situation with their own lens. Factors including personal experiences, education, abilities, limitations, friends, family will all help shape a persons lens. At a basic level, it’s important to recognize that people simply have different lenses with which they see the world. This will help you develop patience when someone’s lens is conflicting with yours. The faster you can remember this in a situation, the easier it will be to overcome and succeed. Once you’ve recognized these different lenses, the next step is to recognize how to help people leverage their lens. Where is the best place to put that person to excel, helping propel them to greater success? Pay attention to their feedback when you’re doing this to ensure that you’re helping them play to their strengths.

Recognizing your lens of how you view the world, doing the same in others and helping position those people will drive your success as well as those around you.

Photos by Paul Ackerley

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My Public Apology for the BlackBerry Outage

by Nan Palmero on December 23, 2009

Yesterday, BlackBerry and I experienced a little turmoil in our relationship. I want to go on record right here, right now and apologize to the millions of people that experienced an outage due to my foolish mistake. Yesterday, BlackBerry came to me wearing a new pair of jeans that she had seen Lady Gaga wearing. For the record, @LadyGaga haunts my nightmares, she is often there, stealing my organs after @Pink has cold clocked me. Anyhow, BlackBerry came by the office to show me her new jeans and asked me the question every man dreads hearing “do I look fat in these jeans?” Not thinking clearly and having my truthful and analytical hat on, I slowly drew my eyes away from my computer screen, she turned around, I turned my head sideways like my dog Clunkers does when he’s confused and responded “yes, yes you do.” STUPID MISTAKE. She looked at me with fire in her eyes, the way she does from time to time (studies show she’s happy about 99% of the time) and said “you’re paying for this one and all your nerdy friends will too.” CRAP. I knew what that meant. Shortly there after I started receiving tweets, text messages, Facebook messages and even phone calls (GASP!) asking me what I had done. People were clearly upset. I felt like Tiger Woods as my four words turned into a trending topic on Twitter. Although the weather was warm in San Antonio, it was an icy night for me. BlackBerry asked me “How could you say such a thing!? Are you some kind of IDIOT!?” My slip of the tongue costs millions of you your addiction yesterday, causing massive withdrawals and anger, all due to me. I. AM. SORRY. I must have apologized to BlackBerry a thousand times. So what did I do to fix it? A home made dinner, a massage, I scrubbed toilets, read to her and was compassionate. I tried to speak as many love languages to her as I could… and it worked. This morning, she was as chipper as could be. She tried those jeans on again and asked me “so how do I look?” “Sweetie, you look beautiful.” So BlackBerry addicts, there you have it. That’s why your device didn’t work yesterday, I’ve now publicly apologized to you (she made me do that) and now all is well with the world. Welcome back to your addiction and Merry Christmas.

Apologetically,
Nan

photo by Floyd Brown

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Send Ashley & Nan Away to Thailand

by Nan Palmero on October 18, 2009

@ashleypalmero and I were selected as one of five couples entered for a chance to win a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand via The Ultimate Thailand Explorers contest. You can help! All you need to do is register, login and vote for us. Are you an overachiever? Well, you can vote every 24 hours!

Head over to http://bit.ly/nanash to get started.
————
I want to thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to vote for us. This will be a life changing event for Ashley and I and you’ll have helped make it happen, for that, we are truly grateful.

Cheers,
Nan

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Ultimate Thailand Explorers

by Nan Palmero on October 14, 2009

@ashleypalmero and I have recently entered the Ultimate Thailand Explorers contest to win a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand! While in Thailand, we would be competing against four other couples in other cities vying for the chance to be selected the Ultimate Thailand Explorers and winning *another* trip back to Thailand! Have a look at our entry and drop us a line in the comments on where you suggest we visit if we win!

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Decision Making Skills from President Clinton

by Nan Palmero on October 13, 2009

One of the struggles I’ve continued to experience in my life is making tough decisions. We’ve all had to make them. They’re those decisions where no matter how much you research, talk to your trusted advisers in your life and ponder, you don’t seem to get very close to knowing the “right answer.” Sure, you recognize the choices you have. You weigh the pros and the cons of each, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear result for either choice, until the choice has been made.

Before I can get to my insight, I have to rewind a bit. I was in New York City last week for the Search Marketing Expo where our client, Pear Analytics, was presenting. My friend, Peter, in New York, helped me get in to see former President Bill Clinton speak at the World Business Forum. Now, no matter your political affiliation, seeing a US President speak is an opportunity to appreciate. President Clinton spoke of his time in office and his initiatives now to make the world a better place. The part that resonated most with me, though, was what he said regarding decision making as a President. He explained that 90% of the decisions for a President are already made by the time they hit his desk. You rely on your advisers heavily during this time, check a box and sign your name and you move on. Being President isn’t about this, though, it’s about the remaining 10% of the decisions. This 10% is where the tough decisions are made. You don’t really know the exact outcome; the best you can do is study, understand, listen to your trusted advisers and make a decision. At times, he says, you’ll make the wrong choice, but you have to adjust from there and continue forward. As he said, being the President is being the Chief Decision Maker.

Hearing this provided me some comfort in my decision making process. If a Rhodes Scholar and former President of the United States says that you’re not always going to know the right answer, make an informed decision, then adjust accordingly, it tells me that I certainly am also afforded the same latitude. To some, this information may seem self-evident. In fact, I hope it is and that you’re further along in your evolution than I am. For those that struggle with those tough decisions, take heart; just do the best you can and adjust accordingly.

Thanks again for the opportunity, Peter, it was life changing.

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Speed Up Your BlackBerry Messaging

by Nan Palmero on October 7, 2009

Are you interested in becoming the fastest BlackBerry user this side of the Pecos River? To do so, you need to keep some keyboard shortcuts in mind. Let’s jump right in:

When you’re composing an email, don’t bother typing the “@” or “.” in an email field, instead, use the spacebar, the BlackBerry already knows what symbol to enter.

In you messages list, you can use the following shortcuts to skip the menu and get right to work, the information in the parentheses is for the folks on SureType devices, such as the Pearl:

C (,) = compose new message
R (!) = reply to a message
L (?) = reply to all in a message
F (.) = forward a message
T (1)= top, it’ll take you to the top of an email or the messages list
B (7)= bottom, it’ll take you to the bottom of an email or the message list
Spacebar (9) = page down in an email or the message list
Shift + Spacebar (3) = page up in an email or the message list
P (4) [slide finger right] = previous email or previous day’s message (if in the message list)
N (6) [slide finger left] = next email or next day’s message (if in the message list)
Hold a letter down to capitalize it

Keep an eye on this blog to get more tips on how to speed up your life on BlackBerry.

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Have Business Relationships That Last

by Nan Palmero on October 6, 2009

Ed Wallace, a “recovering CPA,” was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule speaking and consulting to talk about his new book – Business Relationships That Last. Some of us instinctively know how to manage business relationships, but most of us need a system. As W. Edwards Deming said, 94% of failures are due to poor systems, only 6% are human error. It’s worth noting that just because you have a system for managing relationships, it doesn’t mean that it’s mechanical and rigid.

Why did you write this book? (Ed answered this question in two parts – personal and professional)

“The personal reason I wrote this book is that I was a senior VP for a software company and one afternoon I was at my
desk when I was supposed to be out of town. My wife called and said our 8
year old son Grant fell and to meet her to see Grant. As I was leaving the office, my wife called back and she said we have to meet
at the helipad. Let me tell you, Nan, nothing can prepare you for a MASH scene where you see
your son laying on a gurney. It’s petrifying. You don’t know what’s
happening. It looked like he had a severe concussion and he’s
semiconscious. This was the cathartic moment that showed me how fast
things can change. I realized that I had the whole dream, but I notice
I wasn’t leaving anything behind. I had always wanted to write about
relational platforms. This was the moment when I needed to do this.
Within 6 months, my boss bought me out of my contract and gave me 6
months severance. During these same 6 months we had to take Grant for MRIs
because he had a spot on his brain, but don’t worry, he’s good to go now.”

“Professionally speaking, it’s a big message and it’s perfect for the times. This is a process to build business relationships using 5 steps to turn an acquaintance into a high performing contact. A research firm asked senior VPs the secret to their success. 88% of them said relationships. They followed up asking them what they did with that information. 24% track relationships in their CRM systems. Great, now what did they intentionally do about them? Less than 5% said they have strategies to manage the relationships. Shouldn’t you have processes for your relationships when 88% of Senior VPs say that’s the key to their success?”

What are the essential qualities of a solid business relationship?

“Credibility, Integrity and Authenticity build solid business relationships. Credibility is the power to elicit belief. So once you’re credible, people begin to share their Relational GPS – Goals, Passions and Struggles. This lets you make commitments, that when deliver on them, gets you integrity. During the process, you have authenticity. This convergence builds relational capital, the distinctive value created by people in a business relationship.

Your client’s Goals Passions and Struggles matter. When you understand their goals, you can help them. A GPS in the traditional sense gives you directions from satellites that have converged. They tell you where you need to go. If you’re trying to build a relationship, you really need to learn about all the aspects of your prospect’s/client’s GPS as well. Passions are things that people care deeply about. The way you hold a conversation or provide a referral builds credibility, which opens the door for people to share their passions. As they share their passions, they realize they can share some of their struggles. When people reveal their goals, passions and struggles, they’re laying out their road map. It’s important to note that this is not linear, but once you’re credible, people will typically share their goals first, then struggles and finally, passions.”

Tell me two things I can start doing immediately to develop better business relationships?

“First, every meeting you have is a perpetual audition, even in a good relationship, so don’t take a relationship for granted. Second, be prepared to ask good questions. Questions lead to credibility which launch the relationship. Have worthy intentions about the relationships, where their needs come first. Don’t take any of the meetings for granted. You can always advanced the relationship a little further. Do you want to get really good at asking questions? Sit down and interview a young kid for 5 minutes while they’re doing
something, like playing with Legos. Go ahead, ask follow up questions with a 5 year old. This helps you
get good at asking adults questions. It’s the 2nd, 3rd, 4th questions
that get you in.”

Ed, you write about the concept of “common ground” in the book, what does that mean?

“Common ground is the first rung on the Relational Ladder. What we suggest is to not guess whether the person we’re speaking with wants to build rapport or talk about business. Let them lead you down the path about what they want to talk about. It’s their meeting to decide whether they want to talk about business or personal.

Let me share a story. We had a meeting with the VP of Talent of a company. She had a week old vase of two dozen roses on her desk and had to move them to see us. We didn’t bring up the roses. We go through our meeting and at the end, she wants to hire us. As we’re preparing to leave, she asks, “why didn’t you ask about the roses?” We told her that we like to model for our clients what we talk about. She still hasn’t told us what the roses were for! It’s crucial to let the client steer you. This means we start by telling her “we’re glad to meet with you today” and then wait to see how the meeting should go. Did they start talking about rapport, asking questions about your trip and whether you found the location easily or does the person get right down to business? Pay attention and follow their lead.”

Can you tell me what the five rungs are on the Relational Ladder?

1. Establishing Common Ground: launch the relationship
2. Displaying Integrity and Trust: secure the relationship
3. Using Time Purposefully: invest in the relationship
4 Offering Help: share relational equity
5. Asking for Help: realize returns on your investment

Can you share some examples of how your clients have implemented what you teach and what the impact has been on their business?

“Some clients have built the Relational Ladder into their CRM systems and made the terminology of the ladder into their system. The conversation goes around the relationship first, not about where are they in their pipeline. Sales cycles have been reduced significantly. One internal team implemented this and had a customer satisfaction increased by 55% after the account manager and the CSRs implemented the system. Another high tech sales firm reduced their sales cycle 22% in 6 months.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Ed or Business Relationships That Last, check out his website or drop him a line.

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