connect2collaborate

05/07/2021

An ode to engagement (on LinkedIn)

Photo by Roxanne Shewchuk on Pexels.com Oh great gods of LinkedIn networking, I come to your altar to offer a sweet sacrifice of aromatic words. I have met so many amazing people in the pandemic. They nurture my soul beyond belief, and have provided referrals and business opportunities in an otherwise world of illness and economic hardship. Could the past 16 months have been better, I ponder?...

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/an-ode-to-engagement-on-linkedin/

Photo by Roxanne Shewchuk on Pexels.com Oh great gods of LinkedIn networking, I come to your altar to offer a sweet sacrifice of aromatic words. I have met so many amazing people in the pandemic. T…

05/06/2021

15 questions to get to your why

Photo by Allec Gomes on Pexels.com I have spent a lot of time in my LinkedIn career interviewing clients and urging them to tell their why. Most balk, punt, obfuscate, or laugh nervously. Then they tell me no one ever asked them that before. Good. Now your answer, please? Not good enough, I imply in my follow-up question. You see, we are not programmed to explain our why....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/05/06/15-questions-to-get-to-your-why/

Photo by Allec Gomes on Pexels.com I have spent a lot of time in my LinkedIn career interviewing clients and urging them to tell their why. Most balk, punt, obfuscate, or laugh nervously. Then they…

05/05/2021

Now this was a conversation on LinkedIn!

I want to start by saying I am NOT posting this as an ad for myself. This IS an ad for the powerful conversations that Scott Mason conducts on his podcasts and the people who surround him with admiration and appreciation. Scott, many many thanks! This was the mother of conversations on LinkedIn. It keeps going and going. I provide this to you in order to take away fertile ideas about how to add value on your Linkedin Home page, by using the power of comments to advance an idea, to recommend a podcast/article/book, or just to express your appreciation for something someone else posted....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/05/05/now-this-was-a-conversation-on-linkedin/

I want to start by saying I am NOT posting this as an ad for myself. This IS an ad for the powerful conversations that Scott Mason conducts on his podcasts and the people who surround him with admi…

05/04/2021

Back to Basics Tuesday: edit; better, renovate

Copy paste. cut, insert, edit, edit, edit. And then share it to LinkedIn. Good for you for taking the time to update your profile. But is the net result looking more like a collection of rags in a patchwork quilt than a finely woven fabric cut into a designer suit? Wrap yourself in the best images and words you can to express your career narrative, but be sure you pay strict attention to syntax, grammar, spelling, parallel usage, power verbs, and always employ the pronoun "I," when all are used throughout, they belie an eagle eye to style and color and action and impression....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/05/04/back-to-basics-tuesday-edit-better-renovate/

Copy paste. cut, insert, edit, edit, edit. And then share it to LinkedIn. Good for you for taking the time to update your profile. But is the net result looking more like a collection of rags in a …

05/03/2021

But is this important?

I work with clients who hold back, not deliberately, but as a learned response to being put on the spot. Not because I want to make them uncomfortable, at least not deliberately. But I do try to take them slightly out of their comfort zone to reassure them that our coaching conversation is private, recorded just for them, and they can refer to it at any time in our work together and beyond....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/05/03/but-is-this-important/

I work with clients who hold back, not deliberately, but as a learned response to being put on the spot. Not because I want to make them uncomfortable, at least not deliberately. But I do try to ta…

04/30/2021

Another week and month zoomed by

It's Friday, the end of the last week of April. Wasn't it just new Year's Eve a blink ago? Soon it will be Memorial Day then Fourth of July, then Labor Day then Halloween, then...whoa, too fast! Days of end-to-end zoom chats. It's time to reassess your trajectory. So many people already are, and I am vindicated in my post…...

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/30/another-week-and-month-zoomed-by/

It’s Friday, the end of the last week of April. Wasn’t it just new Year’s Eve a blink ago? Soon it will be Memorial Day then Fourth of July, then Labor Day then Halloween, then…

04/29/2021

Digging for gold

Last week I was on a zoom call with two partners of a company, and they asked me a question how to do something (arcane and unusual) on LinkedIn. Blushingly, I told them I was not sure how, and asked them to try one way that may have worked (it did not) and then I said plainly I don’t know the answer, but I will find out....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/29/digging-for-gold/

Last week I was on a zoom call with two partners of a company, and they asked me a question how to do something (arcane and unusual) on LinkedIn. Blushingly, I told them I was not sure how, and ask…

04/28/2021

Are you onboarding?

I try to welcome all new connections with something they can use right away. I said "try." I want to be memorable and helpful to my new colleagues. But just like I do not post something substandard for the sake of posting, I also only onboard new connections when I have something they can use. Don't cry wolf. Be real, meaningful, and intelligent about how you assist someone....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/28/are-you-onboarding/

I try to welcome all new connections with something they can use right away. I said “try.” I want to be memorable and helpful to my new colleagues. But just like I do not post something…

04/27/2021

www.linkedin.com

My new position on #LinkedInArticles to articulate.

What do you think? Why? In words, not emoticons, please.

#writinglife #opinionpiece #WordsNotEmoticons #whywedowhatwedo #whyyou #MarcRocksLinkedIn

04/27/2021

Back to Basics Tuesday: be in the moment

A few ways to be in the moment on LinkedIn: I was e-introduced a lot during this pandemic. I always immediately start the process to meet over zoom ahead of connecting on LinkedIn. Immediately. Not to appear as needy or desperate, but energetic and grateful for the referral. I always respond to messages and notifications on LinkedIn. Right away. No moss under my fingertips....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/27/back-to-basics-tuesday-be-in-the-moment/

A few ways to be in the moment on LinkedIn: I was e-introduced a lot during this pandemic. I always immediately start the process to meet over zoom ahead of connecting on LinkedIn. Immediately. Not…

04/26/2021

Modulating the volume

The volume of the podcast I am listening to is all over the place: ads are so loud (I get why, but at this decibel level, really, is this truly needed?) The podcast volume is low. Too many interventions to raise or lower the volume. Similarly, you don't yell on LinkedIn. NO CAPS in the narrative. You wouldn't yell at a board meeting so you shouldn't here....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/26/modulating-the-volume/

The volume of the podcast I am listening to is all over the place: ads are so loud (I get why, but at this decibel level, really, is this truly needed?) The podcast volume is low. Too many interven…

04/23/2021

I can be very convincing

I want you to understand exactly why I want to help you, customized to your needs. You can read my LinkedIn profile. You can see me in action (by zoom these days). You can listen to one of my recorded sessions. You can read me in my blog right here, in my LinkedIn posts, or check out my books. Perhaps you will be convinced you should contact me....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/23/i-can-be-very-convincing/

I want you to understand exactly why I want to help you, customized to your needs. You can read my LinkedIn profile. You can see me in action (by zoom these days). You can listen to one of my recor…

04/22/2021

Now I can believe it, that indescribable feeling of holding your own book, not once but twice for the American Bar Association, aimed at helping all professionals tell their “why” and look “amazing-er.” https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/411688555/

Now I can believe it, that indescribable feeling of holding your own book, not once but twice for the American Bar Association, aimed at helping all professionals tell their “why” and look “amazing-er.” https://www.americanbar.org/products/inv/book/411688555/

04/22/2021

She’s just a desperado

Linda Ronstadt (1973, in the best version of this song) had it right: Why don't you come to your senses? From a real connection request I received from out of the blue (her name has been changed to protect this desperate LinkedIn desperado): Jo: Hey Marc I see that you’re a speaker and I’d appreciate being connected with you. Marc:...

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/22/shes-just-a-desperado/

Linda Ronstadt (1973, in the best version of this song) had it right: Why don’t you come to your senses? From a real connection request I received from out of the blue (her name has been chan…

04/21/2021

Confident or courageous?

What do you broadcast, subtly or overly, in your words, your actions, and (you knew this was coming) your LinkedIn persona? Are you courageous? Or, better, are you confident? I ask you to watch this video for 47 seconds. As you can learn from this young podcaster (and I wish I knew half of what he knows when I was his age!), courage is fleeting....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/confident-or-courageous/

What do you broadcast, subtly or overly, in your words, your actions, and (you knew this was coming) your LinkedIn persona? Are you courageous? Or, better, are you confident? I ask you to watch thi…

04/20/2021

Back to Basics Tuesday: duplicate LinkedIn profiles

Search for yourself on LinkedIn, by name. Are there duplicate profiles out there, one (or more) from a long time ago, that you started, abandoned, and left to petrify? You can take control over this. You must. How you do that just depends on whether or not you know the LinkedIn ID and/or password to get back into the duplicate profiles....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/20/back-to-basics-tuesday-duplicate-linkedin-profiles/

Search for yourself on LinkedIn, by name. Are there duplicate profiles out there, one (or more) from a long time ago, that you started, abandoned, and left to petrify? You can take control over thi…

04/19/2021

Missing teeth!

I thought this was a one-off error, but now I've begun seeing this more than a few times. Not OK on any professional's LinkedIn profile. And I am quite astonished, especially since what's worrisome is that this connection gets paid to pay attention to details in completing projects! After congratulating her on a work anniversary, I saw this on her profile:...

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/19/missing-teeth/

I thought this was a one-off error, but now I’ve begun seeing this more than a few times. Not OK on any professional’s LinkedIn profile. And I am quite astonished, especially since what…

04/16/2021

Don’t tilt at windmills, now or in the future

Social Selling Index ("SSI) is a statistic that LinkedIn developed years ago to give you an idea how you stack up against other social salespeople (and we all are, at the end of the day). An idea. IMHO, not reality. While you might think I would be jumping up and down to tell you how wonderful SSI is, I won't....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/16/dont-tilt-at-windmills-now-or-in-the-future/

Social Selling Index (“SSI) is a statistic that LinkedIn developed years ago to give you an idea how you stack up against other social salespeople (and we all are, at the end of the day). An …

04/15/2021

Get on the gravy train

I could not resist this picture. In New Jersey, (if you do not live close by) they call pasta sauce "gravy." In any variety, jarred or homemade. It's colloquial and ethnic, and just so home-spun descriptive. You remember a steaming bowl of pasta dish by taste, and the remembrance will usually be the gravy. My point? LinkedIn speaking, your personal profile can be eclipsed by all the fancy new bells and whistles LinkedIn is enticing you to give fleeting, quick glimpses of what you are....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/15/get-on-the-gravy-train/

I could not resist this picture. In New Jersey, (if you do not live close by) they call pasta sauce “gravy.” In any variety, jarred or homemade. It’s colloquial and ethnic, and ju…

04/15/2021

Nog 1 jaar tot Floriade Expo 2022

Newest project: So pleased to be providing LinkedIn marketing consulting advice to Sandy Lipkowitz, owner of We Make Travel Easy , to harness the power of LinkedIn and make prospective travelers aware of the exciting itinerary she has planned for May 2022 to Floriade Expo 2022, a once-in-a-decade global expo for horticulture, flowers, plants, vegetables and fruit.

Here's a video to give you an idea of this upcoming glorious horticultural exposition, 1 year from now: https://youtu.be/NMVkhdIDSSc

Eens in de 10 jaar... dan openen de poorten van de wereldtuinbouwtentoonstelling Floriade. Vandaag is het nog precies één jaar wachten tot het zover is. Tijd...

04/14/2021

Stay-at-Home-Xs get more respect on LinkedIn

Pandemic bearing down upon us or not, we all may have to make thoughtful choices to stay at home. It can be any of a number of facts of life: raise a child or children, tend to an ailing relative, or have a disability or chronic illness that makes commuting and office work environments hazardous. I have covered the phenomenon in this blog…...

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/14/stay-at-home-xs-get-more-respect-on-linkedin/

Pandemic bearing down upon us or not, we all may have to make thoughtful choices to stay at home. It can be any of a number of facts of life: raise a child or children, tend to an ailing relative, …

04/13/2021

Back to basics Tuesday: Even I didn’t know that!

I met a very interesting guy in a zoom networking session and wanted to pursue what he does, how I can use his services, and refer him to others, but first I wanted to get to know him, and then connect if warranted. So it should be no surprise that I looked him up on LinkedIn. And I was given the choice to connect to him (not ready for that yet), or message him....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/13/back-to-basics-tuesday-even-i-didnt-know-that/

I met a very interesting guy in a zoom networking session and wanted to pursue what he does, how I can use his services, and refer him to others, but first I wanted to get to know him, and then con…

04/12/2021

It happens to me too!

Photo by Yan Krukov on Pexels.com I get impassioned, frustrated emails and calls from time to time: LinkedIn's not working right. It's broken. It can't get it to {...} I reply something along these lines: OK, deep breath. It gets weird sometimes. It happens to me too. Like just now, it went wacky on me. Not working right. I just spent too long trying to edit my Featured section, in which I wanted to change a picture, add a pane, and delete an old pane....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/12/it-happens-to-me-too/

Photo by Yan Krukov on Pexels.com I get impassioned, frustrated emails and calls from time to time: LinkedIn’s not working right. It’s broken. It can’t get it to {…} I reply…

04/12/2021

I'm a "Brain" too. Pleased to be an early adopter of this fascinating concept that foresaw the need to provide #linkedIn expertise, on demand. https://www.pickmybrain.world/profiles/marc-w-halpert

I'm a "Brain" too. Pleased to be an early adopter of this fascinating concept that foresaw the need to provide #linkedIn expertise, on demand. https://www.pickmybrain.world/profiles/marc-w-halpert

04/09/2021

Now who’s right?

Every service or product has its fault. And if technology is in the mix, that's even more complicated. For 2 months I have collaborated with an online service to allow colleagues and prospects to secure a timeframe in my Outlook calendar. I tend to root for the little guy, the start-up, the slightly more agile service so I deliberately chose a smaller player than the big behemoth in the field of calendar accessibility....

https://connect2collaborate.wordpress.com/2021/04/09/now-whos-right/

Every service or product has its fault. And if technology is in the mix, that’s even more complicated. For 2 months I have collaborated with an online service to allow colleagues and prospect…