| March 1, 2011 | | CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF |  |  | | | News for SmartBrief prospective partners | |
| What's Happening |  |  | | - What associations can learn from Borders' struggles
 David Hollender is chief Internet strategist at Mind Sky, an online communications consultant for associations, nonprofits and social enterprises.
"You may have heard about the continuing troubles of Borders books at the hands of more tech-savvy rivals like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But the true story behind the fall of Borders is not really tech-savviness. Rather, it lies in the company's struggle to meet increasing expectations for service and convenience in a rising digital age.
It is true that e-readers produced by other companies are technologically impressive; likewise the search tools, recommendation engines and usability engineering that have gone into their respective websites. But the coolness of these marvels is nothing compared to the capabilities, convenience and ease of use each delivers to their happy recipients."
Read the complete post and join the conversation here. - Firing volunteers, workplaces of the future & the best PR
SmartBlog Insights blog posts in February focused on technology, HR, marketing, social media and, of course, leadership: - 5 steps to more effective brainstorming
 People engaged in group brainstorming tend to produce fewer and less varied ideas than they would have had they worked alone, writes Art Markman, a professor of psychology and marketing. That's because as people share ideas, they shape and constrain how other participants see problems. To unlock your team's potential, Markman recommends having them write down ideas before coming to the meeting, and deliberately resisting consensuses that emerge before the group has given proper consideration to all the options. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Workforce (2/14) - Top 10 tweets from the .org community
A look at @SmartBriefScoop's most popular retweets from the past two weeks:
| Leadership Focus | | | | - How new leaders must shift their perspectives to be effective
New leaders have to shift their perspective on a number of issues, such as focusing on the future instead of the past and being proactive instead of passive, writes Kevin Eikenberry, co-author of "From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership." "As a leader you must think about the team, the larger perspective, the organizational good. We must become less focused on ourselves and more focused on others," Eikenberry writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Workforce (2/22) - Why every leader needs a Vulcan sidekick
"Star Trek"'s Captain Kirk is a great leader, but only because his impetuous instincts are kept in check by the dispassionate Mr. Spock. We can't all have Vulcans on our team, writes Mike Figliuolo, but we owe it to our organizations to surround ourselves with strong deputies capable of challenging us to overcome our managerial weaknesses. "You owe it to your team and your organization to endure the pain of dealing with Mr. Spock because in the end, it's better for everyone involved -- including you," Figliuolo writes. ThoughtLeaders blog (2/21) - What keeps you from taking the blame
Psychologists believe that people are hard-wired to shrug off responsibility for their mistakes, even as they exaggerate their roles in creating their successes. This self-serving bias can be a useful trait in leaders, since it helps them stay optimistic, writes Heidi Grant Halvorson. "The downside, particularly for the leaders on whose judgment we must rely, is that we don't learn anything from our mistakes if we don't recognize that we made them in the first place," she writes. FastCompany.com/FC Expert Blog (2/23) | About SmartBrief | | | | - What we do
SmartBrief publishes industry-specific e-mail newsletters in partnership with prominent associations, professional societies, corporations and nonprofits. More than 4 million executives and professionals rely on SmartBrief every day to stay informed and save them time. Visit here to view our partners, see samples and subscribe. For updates, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. Want to explore partnering? Let's talk. | Media 2.0 | | | | - 12 ways to fuse social media marketing and customer service
Companies typically use social media either as a marketing platform or a customer-service tool -- but there's no reason why the two shouldn't go together, writes Heidi Cohen. The human side of social media provides obvious synergies between marketing and customer-relations activities, and companies that combine the two gain a major competitive advantage. "As your company's point of interaction, customer service is critical to your social media marketing efforts," Cohen writes. ClickZ (2/22) - What are your social media contacts really worth?
Social media is about turning conversations into cold, hard cash, says Jamie Turner. The process starts with determining the total amount of money your average customer spends with your company, so you can figure out how much you're willing to invest in generating new customers through social platforms, he says. "If you understand Customer Lifetime Value and Cost Per Sale, you're well on your way to making money with social media," Turner says. Diva Marketing Blog (2/24) - Keep it simple to sell on social sites, exec says
Companies need to make it easy and fun for their customers to find them and start buying if they are going to make a splash in social commerce, says Jon Mandel, one of the executives behind the 1-800-Flowers Facebook application. That means not creating needless barriers to engagement, while ensuring that your promotions are enticing rather than annoying, Mandel says. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (2/22) | SmartNugget | | | |  | | - Don't make these common networking mistakes
Looking to make a good first impression at a networking event? Author and consultant Devora Zack says showing up late, being stand-offish and failing to follow up are among the seven big no-no's of networking. "It takes about 200 times the information to undo a first impression than it takes to make one," Zack says. The Wall Street Journal (2/23) | |  |
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