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I gave this presentation to two different local community groups. The intent was to open the dialog about diversity--what did they think about, what did they know about, and how has it affected them.

Here is the feedback I received:

• HOLY CRAP! That was stirring and masterful! You handled that with amazing skill and sensitivity. EXCELLENT!
• Very Engaging!
• Really good insight! I like that you are courageous and willing to speak about such topics.
• Great Job—inspiring and heartwarming. Everyon…

Like it or not, diversity in the business arena is here to stay. It is an up and coming trend and it is defining businesses that will success or fail tomorrow.

It’s interesting to see who is tackling this issue and who is afraid. What is also interesting is to see how people approach it. I have seen everything from “pity me, I’m a minority,” to “let’s just meet the numbers,” to “it’s just about the color of your skin,” to “this is an age old problem, so I am going to say it’s the result of divers…

I was told when I moved to Seattle that once you have been here for six months, you are officially a local. The reason is because there are so many people moving here every day that after six months, well you are old news.

I’ve been here three years now and Seattle feels more and more like ‘home’ every day. Just when I think I couldn’t possibly love living here anymore, something happens and wow—Seattle is even more special to me than it was just a moment before.

Last year I had a hard time writin…

I was at an event the other night where I met a CEO. In the midst of sharing what we each do for a living, his response to my business was, “We have a mission statement, a vision, and goals,” said with a confidence that was intended to mean he had the perfect company!

Having been faced with this response many times, I knew what it actually meant—his company is in or approaching serious trouble and either he doesn’t know it or he is in denial about it. Or on rare occasion it means that the company…

The Institute of Management Consultants announced Mel DePaoli, President of Omicle has been selected to present at their 34th annual Confab Conference.

Elizabeth Andreini and Mel DePaoli, two talented and successful marketing experts, helped our attendees gain a fresh look at past clients and engagements to better understand the value they actually provide through services, skills and abilities. They taught us how to examine current offerings and learn skills to create niche offerings for key mar…

As you saw in another post I wrote, B2Comm stands for Business to Community. B2Comm businesses leverage and utilize both B2B and B2C businesses, but they target an entire community instead of only individuals or other businesses.

Also, in that post I mentioned that commercial contractors are an example of B2Comm companies, which surprised many readers. Let’s take a look at why and cover how your marketing will change because of it at the same time.

Generally speaking, commercial contractors have f…

For years there have been two primary types of businesses: B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer). With the launch and success of social media, a third primary has been created that very few people or businesses are recognizing: B2Comm or Business to Community.

In B2B, businesses focus on selling products and services to other businesses and have very little or no interaction with an individual consumer. In most cases, a consumer is almost an irrelevant concept to a B2B busines…

I was cleaning out some of my notes from a meeting I was at and found a great comment that someone had said—though unfortunately I can’t give them credit, as I didn’t write down who said it.

The Profit Button

When you only push the Profit Button, nothing happens, but when you fix, change, and improve everything involved in creating profit magically the profit button works!

So what buttons are you pushing?

 

The other day, a friend of mine on Facebook posted about a discussion she had with someone about “Clients” or “Customers.” They were discussing the differences between the two and which word you should be using to address them.

Here is my question for you: Does it matter?

Yes I know there are die-hards out there who “know” the difference between the two, and perhaps one word invokes a different state of mind within your company. But in the end, seriously does it matter?

Do you want to know my answe…