tonygoodson

SnogFrog Blog

As I promised myself, my new blog is up and running.
SnogFrog Blog.  My wife hates the name.  My friend hates the name.  My mother hates the name.
I love it. Gut feel.
It's about Kissing Frogs.  Selling with Passion.  Networking.  Getting Organised.

Snog is a an English term for kissing.  Kissing with passion.  Pashing.

I've set up the blog and soon the podcast (SnogFrog Pod!) to talk about selling.  Interview people.  See what happens.  See what works.
I'm going to try my hardest to not make it like most other things about selling, which fall into this dull  world of sales talk.  Actually the language isn't dull, just that it sounds like a war.  Territory, Plan, Close, Win, etc etc.  That's fine for 80% of you.  This if for the other 20% who don't feel satisfied with what's out there, and feel there's a different way to sell.
Maybe it's not even selling.

Anyway, let's not define it too much, let's just see what happens.

Getting Things Done in 2006

I'm just having a look at my 2005 New Year's Resolutions, and almost everyone of them ended up as the opposite, which is largely how I intended them.
More Chocolate in 2005! was an attempt to give up chocolate by eating more.  And it worked.  I ate so much chocolate in the early months of 2005 that I think I've become allergic to chocolate by the end of 2005, so now I don't eat any or drink it.  Fantastic Tony, well done! Other 2005 resolutions;

2005 Resolutions
1. More Chocolate
2. Longer meetings!
3. More chocolate!!
4. Less food More Food!
5. More Cycling/Windsurfing
6. More holidays
7. More Blogging
8. More Improv
9. More time with Annie

I've blogged less, done no Improv, forgot about longer meetings, eaten the same amount of food as I always eat, cycled a bit, not windsurfed at all (but that wasn't a literal resolution), not been on holiday, and we now have a pool of babysitters, so Annie and I do spend more time together.  So all in all, my resolutions have mostly come true and how I wanted and expected them.

And so to 2006.  Getting Things Done.  Yes, partly following the book, and it's something I want to help more people with this year.  I think how we manage our lives, especially with information overload, is a big thing, and even if I can't get it right for myself (Ha Ha!) I can help others, who can then help me.

2006 Resolutions
1. GTD.  Work, Home, Network, Money,
2. Health.  I think this can be solved in one event.  Drink more water!
3. Cycle/Windsurf.  When it's windy windsurf, when it's not windy, cycle.  This applies to life.
4. Family.  I'd like to help teach Georgie to read, this year.  And more sport with Jay.
5. Tablet.  Take notes in meetings on my Tablet, with MindManager (and maybe learn OneNote).
6. Fun.  Go-Kart, Beach, Improv, Football, Ski/Snowboard, Annie.
7. MP3. Listen to more, maybe create more.

Oh, and one more thing.
8. $15Million!

p.s I've used Performancing, a Firefox add-on to create my first 2006 Typepad weblog entry.

Networking = Intimacy x No of People

Talking to the guys this morning, they asked me to expand on this;
Networking = Intimacy x No of People.
It's an adaption of a chat conversation I had with Scott Allen several years ago.

If you look at the "equation" carefully what it's saying is to network well, you either have to be intimate with a few people, or meet lots of people but with less intimacy.
Where most people go wrong is they're slightly intimate with quite a few people!
And this is where these social software groups go wrong.  There's not enough intimacy, and most people don't link to enough people.
You either have to be a Thomas Power type (God forbid!) and have thousands of low intimate contacts, or do what you have always done, and have intimate contacts with a few people.
Just have intimate contacts with a few more people, that's all!!

Selling is the same.  So many businesses struggle because they won't be intimate with people, or they won't make contact with enough people.  They get caught somewhere in between where they have time for no-one!

Someone asked me today what is the point of blogging.  It's the same thing.  You can have thousands of people reading your blog, or you can a few intimate readers.  We make the mistake of thinking the "today I stroked the cat" blog is pointless.  It's pointless to most people, but the mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, friend, and ex-boyfriend, are very interested (and intimate) with the cat stroker.

Funny, but as I keep culling my RSS Feeder to read people's blog, I'm getting rid of the celebrity bloggers, and settling for the people I know.  The warm connections.

Who is the Most Connected Actor?

Which actor has the least number of connections (and hence is the most connected) to other actors through the films they've been in?
You'll never guess.
I love this website, which are the published results of research on connectivity between people.
In this case luvvy actors, because the IMDb database has a pretty accurate history of each actor.

It's also about intrigue.  Just how high up is an actor you can name.
Why are some actors higher than others?
Why can you be dead and still be improving your connectivity!!
Who are the most connected women actors (used to be known as actresses!)?

What prompted me to have another look, is this great interview with Lauren Bacall (she's Number 202 on the all time list).

WiKi Wonderland

Alan Singer has an idea!  I love it.  I didn't at first but now the penny has dropped.  And it seems other people are having similar ideas.  If you combine a WiKi tool with a chat tool as Trillian have done, that's a mighty powerful tool for collaboration.
And just to remind myself of my own ideas, here are a few links!
WiKi
Seed WiKi
HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy
Jotspot
FiveAcross
Trillian
Skype and Stuart Henshall

Funny isn't it, Trillian is a character from The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I think I'm on to something here.
I realise that it's easy to pull the people and tools together for something, but it's more difficult to find clients who want to change now!!

Who's Changed Your Life?

I was on the chat to Cameron who is now using MindManager to MindMap his life.  It reminded me that I actually did a MindMap of my whole life!
Yes, I've plotted almost every major event in a people based MindMap of my life.
I'm in the centre, and the first 3 topics are my Mum, Dad and Sister.  Everything, plus some of my own generated events, emanated from them, and there are of course a few random events which occasionally happen, but it's quite rare.

So all my girlfriends and wives are on the map!!  How did I meet them?  Who introduced me?  How did I happen to be in a place where I first met them.  It's the same with work and jobs, Who caused my jobs to happen?  Not just me.  There's always someone involved.  How did I meet that someone?

What I've ended up with, is an amazing map of my life by people.
Patterns start to emerge.  Some people have influenced more than one major event in my life.
Others have set off lots of events but they've not led to anything.
Some colleagues/friends are like protectors who have immense influence and have created good luck for me.

Since moving to Australia 3 years ago, there's an incredibly strong line of influence going back.
I'm in my current role through Steve Collard, and ANZ, both of these came indirectly from Alan Singer (ANZ via John Wallis), who I met through Dan Drum, who was introduced by Wayne Bingham, who I met via Peter Thomson, who I was in a meeting with at Neil Docherty's request, having been put in touch from Dennis Metcalf, who I'd been recommended to talk to by David Brain, Steve Goble, and Peter Kennedy, who I'd worked with from an interview with David Deacon and Paul Doherty, from an internal advert I'd noticed advertised at ICL/Fujitsu.  I'm now back to 1997!!  With me so far?

WoW!  So in fact this all happened because I noticed an internal job advert in '97.
Imagine if I'd noticed 2 internal job adverts!!

And this path has many sub paths. I've just given you the main line.
Amazing.  And I'm still in touch with most of these people.

Give it a go.  Start with the here and now.  Have a look at your action list, and people to call, and ask yourself how have you got here to these events.  Who caused them to happen, and take a few steps back.  An amazing pattern will emerge.

Melbourne online Network?

"Do you know of any networking sites (or good blogs) which cover Melbourne" see comments.

Does Melbourne have an online network?
Someone asked me, and he's not the first.
I don't think there are.  There are a few niche networks, and maybe that's all there needs to be, but I'd love an all embracing online network with links and subgroups.
In fact what I'd love is an Ecademy type thing for Melbourne, but better run, with less of a money for the owners focus.  Preferably with no fee.  The expenses covered by donation of bandwidth or sponsorship.

Am I being naive, or is that all that's required cost wise - a server, bandwidth and someone technical to set it up and administer it like Julian Bond has done for Ecademy?  A labour of love!!

There are a few networks in Melbourne,
Sue Ellson's Newcomers Network for people new to Melbourne.
b2bcafe seems to have gone off air.
Sleepy Brain for Melbourne bloggers.
Melbourne Meetup Bloggers

And yes there's Ryze and Ecademy and Meetup and others, but nothing I think that's hits the spot.
Ecademy came close, but it's UK based, probably has too many overheads and income to support, and I don't agree with the philosophy.
Do you know of other Melbourne online networks?

I'm tempted to look into starting it with a few contacts, friends and colleagues.
And Victoria Gov could chip in as well, as long as it's not a .gov website.  That wouldn't be very cool.
In fact I've already got a working name and tagline..........Melbourne Catalyst (for cool Cats!).

Steal this idea by all means, because I don't see this as being a money making venture.
Profiles, weblogs, forums, chat, meetings, love, business, personal.
What else should there be?

Goodbye Ecademy

Goodbye Ecademy.  The last straw was reducing the facilities for non-paying members, to the point where they can't use the service.  They've effectively silenced any dissent by not allowing networking or weblogging on their site, for non-paying members.

I had been a "PowerNetworker" but there is little value for non-UK based people like me, who in Australia effectively pays over twice the price for 1/20th the value.

Ton has put together a lot of the things I was going to say.
In leaving a comment for Ton, I realised some of the things I'd like to ask of Ecademy and Thomas Power.

 
• How confidential is the information which people post in private messages?
 
• How many members join versus how many "leave" or go dormant?
 
• Do Ecademy remove members or keep them there to make the numbers look better?
 
• What is the financial status of Ecademy?
 
• Why hasn't Ecademy grown exponentially as other networks have?
 
• How much intellectual capital has Ecademy lost by pissing off many people for a few extra bucks?

I guess you pays your money and takes your choice.

"Networking" Events - No Thanks

Grrrrrrr, remind me to never attend a "networking" event again. I'm a good networker, but not in a room full of people wearing badges.  Some of the people were really nice, but some didn't seem interested.
Melbourne is a small place, and tonight I had my every instinct and gut feel confirmed about events from a year ago.  My judgement on a business situation a year ago was proven right.
All I can say is that some of the absolute worst people to deal with, are those who specialise and appear to be expert consultants and trainers on how to deal with people!!
They simply don't practise what they preach.
Hell, if I practised half the sales things I preach, I'd be writing LoveMarks and sitting in Trump's chair.

Want to know how to spot a fake?
Play a few rounds of Bullshit Bingo (link via Seth Godin)

Hello, My Name is Tony!

Just noticed this from Seth Godin's weblog, Hello, my name is Scott. Makes you wonder, doesn't it! Makes you wonder lots of things!!
I just had a meeting this week with the company we work for. How do you know you've met or are working with someone from our company? There are several of us who are contracted into the same company, working on a project. We are indistinguishable from all the other people working there. Perhaps that's a good thing! But I'd like to think we bring something extra. The best we've come up with so far is having our own personalised coffee mugs.

Maybe it's time to walk around with a nametag for the rest of my life.
Now my brain really has started to kick in. Maybe I could sell advertising on my body. Oh I forgot, people already walk around with a Nike Tick on themselves.

I do like the idea of breaking down barriers with other people, like when you do one of those culty self motivation workshops and you walk around smiling at everyone in the street (until it wears off after 3 days!). Or when someone is smiling at you and looking you direct in the eye, only to realise they're talking on their mobile phone through a handsfree.

Our shyness and protocol prevent us from engaging with people. Even those we've been together with at school or work or neighbourhood, for several years, but we walk on the other side of the street (perhaps for good reason!) years later.

I was just looking through FriendsReunited for the first time in ages. It seems to have peaked and died. There's no momentum there. Workplace Reunited and Neighbourhood Reunited are great ideas, but with no momentum anymore. And besides, have you noticed that any contact with people from the past, have a 3 email life, and then nothing, until they copy you in on a house move 2 years later, and you realise you've made their top 30, and you've only spoken to them once in the last 20 years!!

I'm going to be sad and nostalgic, and make a list of 20 people from the past, I'd love to talk to. Be afraid, Be very afraid......"Hello, My Name is Tony............."