Archive for category: General Information

By Jason Terry, talking about year end reviews and hoping everyone has a great start to 2018!

Hello friends! It’s time for our last blog post of 2017. Whew! It’s been a great year, and I’m ready for some down time. How about you?

Year End Reviews

One of the things I like to do every year is go back through my calendar to get perspective on what I’ve accomplished. I usually write up a list of personal things that have happened and put that into a Christmas card for Trista. It ends up being a great conversation over coffee one morning over the break. It helps us realize that a lot more happened than we remembered. And we end up feeling really thankful.

On the business side, Mic and I sit down to talk about how the year went and what we need to focus on for the next year. It’s always an honest, open conversation. We celebrate the wins, unpack the losses and talk about the things that matter most. And of course, we start by eating sushi at one of our favorite restaurants, Sushi Uni.

This year, I am behind. And to be honest, a little crispy. It’s been a great year, but there have been more challenges than in previous years.

• We’ve lost clients. (Noooooo!)
• We’ve gained clients. (Yay!)
• We’ve dealt with insurance issues. (Ugh.)
• I’ve found discipline in my walking regiment. (Life changing!)
• I’ve done a bad job of managing my time. (Also life changing.)

I could probably list dozens of things, but you get the idea. Some good, some not so good. Can you relate?

What I know for sure is that most of the people reading this story are part of making it all work. Clients, referral partners, peer advisory group members, friends and family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. None of it would be possible without you.

I’m looking forward to some down time over the next couple of weeks. And I hope you’re able to find some time to decompress as well. I love the saying, “your presence matters more than your presents.” We have that on our mantle during the holidays. I hope you’re able to leave work behind and spend real, quality time with the people that matter most to you.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from your friends at Blue Gurus!

Post written by Mic Johnson, Blog Coach | LinkedIn Trainer | WordPress Builder | Rational Optimist | Sushi Fan | Jayhawk | #micnuggets | @MJMeetings

The way I see it is there are certain things that just fit ever-so-neatly into the category of common courtesy. But much like common sense, it seems like common courtesy has taken a backseat in recent years.

Throughout my lifetime I’ve observed people who are awesome at following up, staying in touch, doing what they say they’re going to do, etc. On the flip side I’ve seen the exact opposite from others. While I’m far from perfect, being reliable and exhibiting common courtesy are things I take great pride in and work hard on. The way I see it is the more I exercise common courtesy basics, the better, in my own small way, I make the world.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to see how people would score themselves when it comes to a few items that fall into the category of common courtesy. Obviously this list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a start.

Think of it as a personal and professional “common courtesy check up”. Maybe you’re awesome and have been rocking your common courtesy mojo for years. Or maybe you need a friendly reminder that you might need to work on becoming better at the common courtesy basics. Either way, I hope you find this exercise helpful.

Following is a list of items, scenarios, etc. Simply answer each question and give yourself a score on each item and then add them up and see how your Common Courtesy Scorecard turned out:

1. Do you say Please and Thank You:  
a. Every time a situation calls for it. (5 points)
b. Sometimes. (3 points)
c. Only if you feel like it. (0 points)

2. When you’re walking in or out of a door and you see someone coming or you know there’s someone behind you, do you: 
a. Pretty much always hold the door for them. (5 points)
b. Sometimes hold the door for them. (3 points)
c. Pretty much get yourself through the door and move on. (0 points)

3. If you’re talking to someone and say “We should get together soon”, do you: 
a. Pull up your calendar on your smartphone and lock in a date/time. (5 points)
b. Send them a text or email later in the week with dates/times that might work. (3 points)
c. Forget to follow up with them and the meeting never happens. (0 points)

4. When you get an invitation to an event that’s requesting an RSVP, do you: 
a. Always RSVP and let the person know either way whether you’ll be able to make it. (5 points)
b. Sometimes RSVP and let the person know either way whether you’ll be able to make it. (3 points)
c. Typically ignore RSVP’ing and make it if you can. (0 points)

5. When you receive an email from someone that requires a response, do you:
a. With few exceptions, reply same day. (5 points)
b. Reply within 1-2 days. (3 points)
c. Reply within 3 days or later. (0 points)

6. If someone refers you business or refers you to someone who can help you personally or professionally, do you: 
a. Thank them and follow up to let them know how the referral panned out. (5 points)
b. Thank them for the referral. (3 points)
c. Follow up on the referral but never thank them or let them know how the referral panned out. (0 points)

7. When you’re driving on a road or highway and see another person in a lane that’s ending, do you: 
a. Always slow down and wave them over so they can get into your lane. (5 points)
b. Sometimes slow down and wave them over. (3 points)
c. Speed up so they have to slow down and get behind you. (0 points)

8. If you’re driving and trying to change lanes and someone makes room for you, do you: 
a. Always wave and let them know you appreciated it. (5 points)
b. Sometimes wave. (3 points)
c. Get into the lane just keep driving. (0 points)

9. If you’re late for a meeting or event, do you: 
a. Always give the other person a heads up with a call, text, etc. (5 points)
b. Show up late and just get on with the meeting. (0 points)

10. When you receive a gift from someone, do you: 
a. Always thank them (in person, via email, text, etc.) (5 points)
b. Sometimes thank people but forget other times. (3 points)
c. Typically take the gift and assume they know you appreciate it. (0 points)

Common Courtesy Scorecard
40-50 points – You’re pretty much rocking your common courtesy.
30-40 points – You’re courteous, but have some room for improvement.
< 30 points – Time for a common courtesy refresher.

How’d you do? If you’re up for it (and brave enough!), share your results by leaving a comment in the comments section of this post or drop me an email, text, etc. Additionally, share any other common courtesy basics you routinely practice.

Thanks for playing along…and no matter your score, let’s all agree to be more aware of practicing the common courtesy basics!

P.S. – I’ll tell you my score if you tell me yours. Email me at mic@bluegurus.com.

Post written by Mic Johnson, Blog Coach | LinkedIn Trainer | WordPress Builder | Rational Optimist | Sushi Fan | Jayhawk | #micnuggets | @MJMeetings

As I was thinking about blog topics to write about, several things started running through my head. Here they are in no particular order:

1. What am I going to write about this week?
2. I’ve got two clients I’ve talked to recently who have been struggling coming up with blog topics of their own. How can I help them get out of their own way and pay attention to what’s going on around them every day? This blogging stuff is hard sometimes.
3. To that point, I had a conversation recently with two friends, one who is a business owner, about how blogging is hard and how they thought it was easier for me because “you like to write”. In fact, I don’t always like to write. I tend to write when I’m inspired to write…and that doesn’t always happen when I sit down to write.
4. 

   Me and Missy, pre-funk, at the Haleakalā Summit, site of a dormant volcano in Maui

   I’ve been in a funk for the last several days. To be fair, my wife Missy and I just got back from an early 20-year-anniversary trip to Maui so this could just be a “back-to-reality” hangover. We were there for 10 days. It was incredible. But the flight back was long. There’s a 5-hour time difference. And we were “welcomed” back to Kansas City with cold, rainy, rainy, rainy (Did I mention rainy?) weather…and allergies. It’s been several days since we got back, but the funk endures. I’m sleeping well, but not feeling rested. I can tell my brain isn’t “on point”.

I’ve done all kinds of things to try to bust the funk. #bustthefunk

I worked out.

I threw down a 5-hour energy drink (I don’t drink coffee and times like this I wish I did.)

I’ve taken naps.

I’ve meditated.

I watched some Netflix.

I played golf (if you’ve seen my golf game, this probably wasn’t the ideal way for me to try to #bustthefunk)

I took some allergy medication.

But I’m still not 100%.

So I thought I’d ask for a little help because I know we all go through times like this. When you do, how do you #bustthefunk? Leave a comment below or drop me an email at mic@bluegurus.com.

Author: Jason Terry

There are so many things running through my head this week. So I picked three to talk about!

Perspective.

I met with one of my peer advisory groups Friday morning, February 3rd. We met at Doug Hubler’s office (Apex Business Advisors) on the 16th floor of the Darth Vader building. I took a photo of I-435 and Metcalf from the conference room at 7:45am. The city was starting to wake up and people were on their way to work.

Being high above the hustle and bustle for a minute was a perspective builder. It was a visible reminder that I was there to work ON the business and not IN the business for a couple of hours.

My peer group talks about business and personal topics. Positives and negatives. We get wisdom, strength, support and encouragement from each other. It is one of the most important things I commit my time to on a monthly basis. If you’re not actively involved in a peer advisory group, I recommend you look into joining a group or starting your own.

One of my take-aways from the discussion was about leadership styles and a book recommendation from Andrew Kneisler called Crucial Conversations. I bought the Kindle version and I’m looking forward to reading it in the small spaces between client visits over the next two weeks.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

I signed up for a 3 month trial of LinkedIn’s add-on product called Sales Navigator. We’ve gotten a few questions about this tool during our LinkedIn training classes with our clients, and it’s time for me to dig in and see if it’s worth the spend.

So far, the answer is “yes” for people doing 100% sales through relationship. But for most people, the free version is just fine. I think that over time, Sales Navigator will become more important as LinkedIn continues to move functionality our of the free experience and into Sales Navigator.

For example, paid Professional level accounts have lost the ability to do granular advanced searches on key metrics like company size and employee seniority… that functionality got moved into Sales Navigator. I’ve had a Professional paid account for years. LinkedIn sent me an email explaining that they were removing a feature that wasn’t used often by the “majority of their members”… but if I wanted to continue to use the feature I could upgrade to Sales Navigator. Yes, I see what you are doing LinkedIn…

It’s obvious to me that LinkedIn is looking at ways to be more profitable, which I understand and respect. I just hope they don’t go too far, too quickly and alienate their user base. As I was writing this post, I got another email from LinkedIn titled, “Jason, should you be expensing your Sales Navigator account?” How’s that for timing and validation of their motives? Again, smart business… but I hope they are careful with their changes in the coming months.

Let me know if you are interested in hearing more about my experience with Sales Navigator in a future blog post.

Blogging

I continue to be amazed at how mainstream storytelling through blogging has become. More and more companies are asking for help and want to know how the process works. We’ve been doing this for eight years and it’s finally catching on.

There are still a lot of questions, but conversations we’ve been having lately are more about how the actual process works instead of why companies should be doing it.

Did you know?

• B2B companies with a blog receive more leads than those that don’t. (Source: Huffington Post)
• Companies that blog receive 97% more links to their website. (Source: Business 2 Community)
• Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information. (Source: Search Engine People)

There are 14.1 million articles on the web about the “benefits of blogging”. We can say from personal experience with companies all over Kansas City that it works. It really works. It’s worth the time and expense in so many ways. And whether you need our help to get started or not, you should make sure storytelling is an integral part of your marketing strategy in 2017.

Let me know if any of this resonated with you! And if there’s a topic I should cover, I would love the suggestion… just email me at jason@bluegurus.com. Thanks for reading!

Post written by Mic Johnson, Blog Coach | LinkedIn Trainer | WordPress Website Guy | Rational Optimist | Jayhawk | Sushi Lover | @MJMeetings Husband

January marks my 7-year anniversary with Blue Gurus. My oh my…how the time flies.

As I received several notes of congratulations on Facebook and LinkedIn, I found myself reflecting on the past 7 years and jotted down some notes.

I hope some of my personal and professional lessons will inspire you in your life and career. I don’t have all of the answers…but I do have a few.

1. Communication is everything. No, seriously, it really is.
I’ve been married for nearly 20 years and whenever I talk to people about why Missy and I are still happy all these years later…it all comes down to communication. When we talk to each other about the ups and downs of life and business, we know that we’re coming from a place of mutual trust and respect.

Jason and I have a very similar relationship. We make each other better because we trust each other and LISTEN to one another. And if we have constructive criticism to share, we enter those conversations from an honest place. Jason said it best the other day, “I think a big part of our potential was, and continues to be, deep trust and respect.”

2. Be accountable. 
One of the items listed on my LinkedIn Summary says: Reliable – I do what I say I’ll do. Every time. I don’t drop balls. If you’ve ever interacted with me or Jason and we haven’t done what we said we’d do, let us know. Holding ourselves and each other accountable is built into our DNA and into the Blue Gurus culture. We take great pride in being the type of people, in our personal and professional lives, that people can count on.

3. Remind yourself why you do what you do.
Help others. Have fun. Make a reasonable living. Have a REAL work-life balance. Those are four pillars that have been a part of the Blue Gurus culture since the beginning…and they guide us every single day in our personal and professional lives. There have been times when one or more of those have gotten out of balance for one (or both) of us, but we always do the work it takes to bring ourselves back into balance. Those four pillars are why, to this day, we wake up excited about what we’re doing…and why we’re doing it.

4. Celebrate the wins. Help each other through the losses.
It’s important to remember to celebrate the wins. We haven’t always been good about doing that because it’s very easy to get focused on the work, or getting the next client, and so on. But we also know when we get out of balance and haven’t celebrated enough. Whether it’s a trip together, taking the afternoon off, going to lunch, or taking our wives to dinner…we find ways to celebrate the wins.

And when we’ve lost clients, we’re there to help each other through it. Losing clients is so much more than lost revenue to us. We feel it in our guts…and in ou hearts. As I told a former client the other day, “It’s like losing a pet.” The loss is often sudden and unforgiving. You spend so much time investing in the people and the relationship…and then it ends (Thankfully, it’s rarely ended because of something we’ve done…or failed to do.) It’s a part of every business and you learn to move on, but it’s always been hard because Jason and I care about the people we work with at a depth that only he and I truly understand.

5. Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
That’s the entrepreneurial journey in a nutshell for me. I’ve said more times than I can count, “Every year the equation changes…and every year we figure it out.” Sometimes there are years when we’ve done more LinkedIn Training. Sometimes there are years when we’ve done more websites. Sometimes there are years when more clients have signed up for blogging relationships. It’s very difficult to forecast in our business, but every year we figure it out.

And here’s a little fun fact…when Jason and I first started working together 7 years ago, we had NO IDEA what we were going to do together (true story). We just knew we wanted to work together and we trusted that we would figure it out. It wasn’t always easy, but we did it. For me personally, that’s been one of the most gratifying aspects of this entire journey.

6. Intentionally work on improving yourself.
This is one of the areas I’m most proud of over the last 7 years. Jason and I have worked so hard to improve ourselves as people, as husbands, as friends, and as trusted partners for our clients. Whether it’s working on our work-life balance, or running our peer advisory groups, or finding ways to reduce our anxiety levels, or fine-tuning the way we deliver the services we offer, or countless other things…we don’t settle for being average. We’re committed to being better today than we were yesterday.

7. If you’ve made it this far, go back and keep repeating lessons 1-6.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and Blue Gurus along the way. It means more than you’ll ever know.