One of the “do’s” for Facebook is you want to be very interactive. Get on Facebook and make sure that you’re commenting to people. Perhaps you do some real-time chat with some of your Facebook fans. I do recommend that you also create Facebook lists so that you can manage your friends better. These lists are a great tool to help you group and organize people so you can better communicate with them. For example, let’s say you are going to have an event and you live in L.A. You would find the list of all your L.A. friends and invite them. Or you may have people interested in a specific topic, and you can put them in a particular list.

For Twitter, I recommend that you respond to every direct message that comes in. This goes a long with being interactive, you need to be building relationships!

Now for some “don’t’s”. Do not constantly put up a messages (on any social network) that only has to do with selling, selling, selling, selling. Sometimes when I look on my Twitter account, I can find people that only promote their products and services! They don’t offer any type of value to their followers/friends. I don’t believe you should do that. I believe that you should be doing posts that are value, value, value, and then once in a while you can go ahead and you can put in, “Come to this,” or, “Here’s this,” or, “Go to this.” But what you want to do is you want to claim expert status, and the way you become an expert is by valuable posts. So everything you post should have value, and once in a while you can send people somewhere.

Another “do” is make sure that you have the same head shot used on all of these pages so you can become branded. I also definitely recommend that you use the same tag line that people are used to with you. Include your web site as well.

When you are posting on social media, be aware that every time that you post, you want to post things that start a conversation or ask a question or, again, show you as a credible expert. Don’t post things that are nonsense or that will start political conversation; you really want to make sure that your posts are valuable and in line with what people who follow you or friend you would want to know about.

I want you at this event, and I want you to bring at least one other person with you! I promise, commit and guarantee they will receive huge value as will you.

All proceeds are going to support a young girl suffering from RSD. Danielle is 17 and before she bumped the outside of her knee, she was an amazing young entrepreneur with a gift for helping children with ADHD and Autism using her horses. She is a beautiful human being with so much love and compassion for others. She has been affected by RSD for 1 1/2 years. She has been on a crazy nightmare in Rhode Island. Danielle was hospitalized, paced in leather restraints, her room stripped of all belongings and a guard placed at her door because she was in severe pain.

This is a video of the pain the hospital made her stay in for 10 days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3rUoRsDjyI

Here is the link to Danielle’s website where her mother posted the blog about it. http://tinyurl.com/daniellesblog

Having suffered from RSD myself from an injury I received a few years ago, I hate to think of the pain that a child suffers from each day with this disease. All proceeds from this event will go to Danielle to help her get the medical care she needs.

This event is titled: Disciplines of Thriving Entrepreneurs

This event is perfect for you! You can be a fledgling entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, my event will help you understand what differentiates the 5% of successful entrepreneurs from the 95% that fail!

What makes some entrepreneurs more successful than others?
What disciplines do they do that let them achieve a breakthrough and take their business to the next level?
What does it mean to be a thriving entrepreneur?

To me a thriving entrepreneur is one who has penetrated or overcome an obstacle – in this case overwhelming odds of failure! – and has achieved a sudden advance or a notable success in his or her business. Do you want to be a thriving entrepreneur? Do you want your colleagues, friends and family members to be as well?

YOU have to attend this because it is critical to your success.

I want you to share this day with a fellow business owner or entreprenuer!

Attend the Disciplines of Thriving Entrepreneurs and I promise to share insights on how you can achieve a super successful business. This is happening on Friday February 25, 2011, 10:00-5:00pm – venue is Plymouth Meeting, PA.

And I’m giving you a special deal!!

To learn more and to register, click here

http://www.terrilevine.com/event/

The other way that you can do it is to do some kind of a charity event. Perhaps you’re donating the funds from an event to the American Cancer Society or something similar to that. You can invite the press to perhaps one of your events or an open house. That is not only wonderful and helpful to society, but it is a form of free press.

And so these are great ways to get the attention of the press and to get publicity that costs you absolutely nothing and can drive customers to your business. Please remember that you don’t just send a press release. You need to also call and very, very quickly, 15 seconds or less, you pitch your release.

First of all, understand that the purpose of social media is to increase your brand, increase your website traffic and to grow a customer base. So, what do you post on these sites? Well, you post things that are helpful; tips, tools, techniques. Avoid anything sales-y. You should contribute to conversations by offering ideas that show that you are a credible expert, a leading authority in your industry. Not to be braggadocios, but just to add to the conversation.

At times you can also post things that are humorous about your industry, again, to give a sense of who you are. Also, once in awhile, post some personal things so that people get to know you, like you and feel like they’re building a relationship with you. Just mix up these kinds of postings; your blogs and your Twitter, your Facebook, et cetera, et cetera, and you’ll begin to build a new community with new followers.

I, in fact, am not a big fan of writing e-mails. I find that it loses the personal touch. I use a lot of video e-mail so that I can be communicating using my voice, my hands, and my body language. I feel like I’m sharing directly with my audience. Very often I will even make a quick audio recording back to someone so they can hear what I have to say. When you do actually type an e-mail, think carefully. Read it a couple of times and make sure that the e-mail is right and in the right tone of voice that you want to use. Otherwise you can’t be sure that the person reading your e-mail really understands exactly what you wanted to say.

When you think about e-mail, remember, it’s all about building relationships. So how can you make e-mail more effective? Perhaps you’ll want to play with video or audio. I suggest you try it.

To me, there’s one thing that you have in your business and that is your word. You are your word and nothing but your word. So you must come from authenticity and truth. When I chat with people, when I listen to people, when I hear people – if I really believe that my products and services are a fit, I’ll share that. If I believe they’re not I’ll tell them that as well. And I don’t make promises. I was told years ago the business owner should under promise and over deliver. I don’t buy that. I think you shouldn’t promise and then you should “wow”. So be transparent. Come from truth. And treat your clients and your customers like your extended family. You will thrive in your business when you follow these tips.

Depending on who you ask, you will get varying answers to the question of whether working overtime is worth it or not.  The general consensus of opinion is negative, with research finding that working overtime has been linked to anxiety and depression. Yet clearly, not everyone who works overtime suffers either of these conditions… so what gives?

In pretty much every country in the world, workers are busy working overtime, whether it is staying at work longer, taking work home with them during the week and on weekends or even taking it on holidays with them.  When you work overtime, you are missing out on precious time you could be spending with family and friends or doing activities that make your life fulfilling and enjoyable and that contribute to your physical and mental health and wellbeing. Working overtime can also provide valuable extra income or flexible hours when you can take time off during the day when you need to, that is, provided you have a mutually satisfying agreement with your employer to enable that.

A business will most likely never ask you to stop doing overtime if they don’t have an agreement with you in place to compensate you, because the extra productivity they are getting at your expense costs them nothing!  The extra productivity helps them move towards their goals more quickly – they’re not about to complain.

The problem is what are you getting out of doing all that extra overtime?  What goals of your own are being worked towards or achieved, such as a promotion… payrise… bonus… etc.

Doing overtime is not a problem if it is something you rarely need to do and when you do it, you are compensated in some way.  It becomes a problem when you are doing it regularly for no more reward and your own goals are not being achieved.

Some people are required to work extra hours as part of a productivity agreement, but with this there is known  and mutually agreed compensation, however, what about those people who are doing overtime because they are overloaded with work and this is the only way they can keep on top of things? When this occurs constantly and there is no easing up, this will lead to anxiety and poor  health.  For your physical and emotional well-being, you need “time out” to relax and recharge your batteries. If you don’t, you will suffer burn out.  Not only is this detrimental to the individual, it will wreak havoc with their productivity at work.  In the long run, requiring an employee to continuously work overtime will backfire.

Some people are natural work horses and thrive on working extra hours in their career, regardless of whether the extra time is acknowledged and compensated for or not.  These are people who are also climbing a ladder of sorts, hoping for promotion, salary increases, time off, etc. or maybe they have other vested interests – either they are a part owner or shareholder.  Most other people are not programmed that way and need a more even work/life balance.  Even when compensated, too much overtime requirement is enough to lead to stress and loss of job satisfaction and productivity.

Those who are not particularly interested in their work in the first place are very likely to suffer anxiety and stresses when required to spend longer hours doing the very thing they dislike.  On the other hand, those who love what they do and maybe don’t even consider what they do “work”, are happy to put in the extra time with no ill effects.  Either way, it is only right that the benefits be mutual.

So, if a company wants to reach its goals quicker by getting more productivity out of its workforce and they are not prepared to put on extra staff and expect their existing staff to work overtime, what needs to be done? Compensating employees for extra productivity is a whole other article and it stands to reason that businesses must negotiate with their staff.  On an individual level, however, if an employee is suffering anxiety and stress having to do overtime, what do they need to do? 

A serious problem exists if employees are going into work early, working through breaks and staying back late on a regular basis because it is expected of them to do what it takes to get the job done. If this is rewarded and doesn’t happen every week and the employee is able to enjoy a healthy work/life balance for the majority of the time then there is no problem.  However, if this occurs regularly and the extra overtime isn’t putting a dent in your to-do list and you are not being recognized or rewarded, it’s time to speak up and review your situation. If you don’t, you are working for nothing.

When we start to arrive earlier, work through breaks, and stay back late, we often create a rod for our own back, especially if we say nothing.  You will be taken for granted and the company will think you are quite okay with what you are doing and may not even be aware you are working such long hours.  If you have created this habit for yourself, it is up to you to break it otherwise the extra time you are putting in will be expected from the company as opposed to being appreciated (and rewarded!)  Speak to your managers, explain you have created an unhealthy work/life balance for yourself and will be reverting to normal working hours in future, while making it clear they can still rely on you to meet deadlines and you will be there and put in the extra time when it is really needed – but not just as an everyday “habit”.

A common problem is getting management to notice that you are working overtime. After all, how can you expect any recognition and reward for doing overtime that only you know about? You can’t very well keep telling them how many long hours you are working without them wondering if you are cracking up!  You let them know subtly.  For example, if you hand over a report, when your manager says thanks, or if he makes a comment about how you made the deadline, just smile and casually say you stayed back to ensure its completion.  Another subtle way to announce the hours you are working is to send emails to your bosses from your work email while you are there working late.  This will prove what time you were at work because of the date/time of the email.  Likewise, respond to emails from your managers during these extra hours of overtime because again, it provides evidence by the date/time of your email.

If your overtime is a problem that needs your workload to be addressed by management, or you want to negotiate for a promotion or a payrise (or even an assistant to help you!), you will need more than subtle evidence to support your claims. If you are not required to use a timesheet, create your own record.  Keep note of the extra hours you work each day/week, and what you did during those hours – what you achieved. Companies will not be prepared to compensate you if you are just doing overtime to look impressive – they want to know you are really being productive for their benefit. You should not be doing daily overtime just to cover unimportant detail – overtime is for important and/or urgent activity. Keeping a record is also useful when review time comes around.

Now, if you are working overtime that is necessary and you are not being compensated for those extra hours, you must speak up – but do it in a non-aggressive, non-threatening manner.  Don’t barge into your boss’s office demanding extra pay “or else!”  With your overtime record in your hands, negotiate. If you are an unfortunate employee whose company refuses to reward you for the extra time and they give you the message if you don’t like it, leave… you have the option of looking for a new job of course, but also of just not working overtime in future.  You cannot be sacked for working the hours you are paid to work, and while some agreements actually do cover the requirement for some overtime when needed, the emphasis here is on “some overtime when needed” – not overtime every day for no extra compensation.  If productivity suffers and your workload begins to get behind, you have evidence that something is wrong and that you brought it to their attention. It is up to the company to negotiate with you if you are willing to work a certain number of extra hours to keep up, or whether the workload needs to be redistributed more evenly.

When you are seen to be working 50 hours a week instead of the 40 hours you may be hired to do, it doesn’t stand out to management who become used to seeing you do that and they may even think you’re happy with that because you’ve not spoken up.  You also run the risk of having management think you are not competent or capable of achieving what they may consider a reasonable workload in the hours they pay you to achieve it.  Instead of looking productive, they may see you as a time waster who has to work later because you’re not smart enough! When you do overtime on a regular basis, even when it probably isn’t really necessary, you diminish the effect of working overtime in terms of company recognition.

When you want management to see you as leadership material, going the extra mile when needed, will help you achieve that.  You don’t want “Oh, that’s Jack working late… it’s okay, he’s always here at that time.” You want “Oh, wow… look at Jack working late tonight. Isn’t he a reliable guy!”  It’s not fair, but that is often how it can pan out – when you do it every day, it becomes the norm… and ignored.

So in a nutshell, keep a record, let it be known subtly, and speak up and negotiate… because you deserve it.

Now, as businesses in the major western countries get back on their feet, one of the key factors to their success is not going to be in the number of new products they can invent or manufacture for less than their competition, but from the people who work for them… the employees who drive their business. If a company is to rebuild itself and continue to grow, it must have enthusiastic, productive and committed people and motivating the workforce must become a key strategy in business growth plans. 

Studies show that money alone does not provide long term motivation, because employees have to know the difference between being paid for the job they do as opposed to being rewarded for doing a good job, so with many companies still facing the necessity to watch their spending, here are some examples of motivational programs and options they can consider.

Health Care Programs.  While many large companies are still investing in programs aimed at improving and maintaining the health of their employees, recent studies have shown that an increasing number of U.S. businesses are buckling under the financial pressure and either reducing the options they provide or considering withdrawing from it altogether.

Some businesses are considering sharing the cost of their health plans with their employees, others are taking a look at their plans and reducing the number of options, and others are looking more toward health and wellness type programs, for example, gym memberships, massage, yoga and tai chi classes.

If your organization decides to stick to providing a health care plan, you can save money by renegotiating terms with your health care plan providers, who also in a competitive environment and if they want your business they will negotiate.  You can lower costs by asking for discounts and special deals if your company uses certain pharmacies or gyms. Now is also the time to expect better service and more for your company dollar.  Why not ask your provider to include cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes tests for your workforce, free of charge? 

Communicate and Stay Engaged with Your Workforce.   The days of keeping the workforce in the dark are long gone as are producing paper newsletters and notices.  We’re not only considering the environment by not wasting paper, we’re saving money.  Savvy employers are keeping in touch by using “social media” and the trend will grow in 2010.  No longer the domain of those with too much time on their hands, social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) are becoming part of business culture with more and more businesses using it as a form of network marketing as well as keeping in touch.

It’s important, especially during challenging times when employees feel the most vulnerable and insecure, to maintain regular contact, to give them encouragement, boost their spirits and their motivation.

An increasing number of businesses are turning to social medial to engage with their workforce, moreso than using email.  Other tools used are company blogs and online forums and discussion boards to stay in touch and encourage communication.  Another benefit of using social media for communications is the ability to interact with individuals and encourage communication between all levels of a company and between teams situated in other parts of the country or even the around the world.

Match the Reward to the Employee.  Another challenge for companies to face in the future are the number of different generations within the workforce and it is predicted that by 2020, there will be five generations working, each with their own needs and wants and they will all need to be handled differently.  In leadership, one size definitely will not fit all. For the immediate future, the main issue will be retaining your top end performers and increased competition for jobs from those whose retirement funds were destroyed and now seek to return to paid work.  Within this segment you will find very experienced performers who may well be happy to stay in the one job, but this needs to be balanced with an experienced or potentially talented younger workforce who you also need to be motivated and retained for the long term future. Clearly, the motivational needs of both these generations is going to be vastly different.

Non-financial rewards. These days, two strong motivators are related to career advancement and job security. For future long term benefits, motivate your high performers with diverse career development plans, so they don’t have to leave your company to find advancement elsewhere.  If you cannot promote from within your own company, consider transfers within your own branch to different departments or to other branches of your division or even sister companies. An employee whose ideal career future can be nurtured and provided, is an employee you will keep.

Other ways businesses can motivate employees include share schemes.  Some countries offer tax savings to employers and employees for approved share schemes and it would be prudent to check if this applies to you, so you can take advantage of it.  Share schemes are a low cost incentive for companies to introduce yet provides long term motivation. Employees have the incentive to be productive on a long term basis because the better the company’s shares perform, the more they get to share in the success.

You can also offer more social activities for employees to boost morale and help them relax.  Consider a company sausage sizzle in the park, or maybe start the day with a 5-10 minute relaxation program such as Tai Chi.  You can offer a day off to the employee who finishes their important tasks and has met all their deadlines. 

It doesn’t make sense for businesses to not consider benefits that they deem will cost the company in some way, such as giving an employee the day off, when you consider the cost to businesses from employees taking too many “sickies” and wasting time at work.  A happy, motivated employee can do the work of two and assist to accelerate your business.  Achieving that type of employee just makes good business sense.

Team Spirit:  Developing teams will continue to be high on the agenda and working within a fun and uplifting team environment is a very cheap way to motivate and encourage employees.  Nobody enjoys going to work with people with whom they have little in common and they have difficulty getting along with.  People who feel ostracized by age or cultural differences are not going to fit in or be easily accepted by the majority – like broken links in a chain, the team will be adversely affected because not everyone is cooperating and working smoothly together.

People working together, communicating and cooperating, regardless of individual differences, is the key to long term success. But it isn’t just developing team spirit within individual departments that is important, the new mission is to make your entire organization’s workforce be one huge team who can work together.  In this way, all employees would contribute their ideas and communicate with other departments to find ways to make great ideas work. Not only is this hugely beneficial to the company, but it makes the employees feel like they have a vested interest and an important role to play. Such individuals are highly motivated and geared for success.

Positive Feedback. One motivational tool that will continue to be successful is providing positive feedback.  It costs nothing and provides huge results.  Employees need to know they are doing something right and worthwhile.  While it is important to point out areas that need improvement, counter this with acknowledgement of areas where they are doing well.  Don’t just hand out random compliments, tie the positive feedback to real results and actions and encourage the employee to continue their excellent work.  Let them know their efforts do not go unnoticed by the ‘top brass’ – and this is also a subtle way of informing them that any lack of effort would therefore also not go unnoticed.

Motivation is tied to morale.  When morale is low, productivity drops and employees leave.  Business suffers.  During difficult financial times when it is not possible to consider financial rewards and incentives, companies must be creative and flexible. 

Many of today’s younger workforce are motivated not only by high paying careers but also work that appeals to their personal interests and that also offers opportunities for personal and career growth.  They want to do work that gives them pride and a sense of accomplishment. Many have learned from previous generations that it is important to do work that makes you happy, that gives you a reason to bounce out of bed in the morning with anticipation as opposed to dread, and they are looking for employers who can provide that stimulation PLUS time enough to enjoy a private life.

It is imperative for organizations to link their corporate missions to work motivation because machinery, office equipment, buildings and great products or services alone do not grow a business… people do.

 If you don’t have the full support and understanding of key management positions, any organizational changes being made are going to be thwart with difficulties. It is up to CEOs and Presidents to champion the cause and ensure their managerial teams are also in full support, so that it can filter down through the ranks more smoothly.

 It is not enough to merely hand a list of problems and preferred outcomes or objectives to a managerial team and expect them to go ahead and get to work on it. They, too, need guidelines and guidance, reassurance, and training. Many Managers get to where they are through natural progression up the corporate ladder, climbing their way on their years of experience. But this doesn’t mean they know how to manage. The Manager of the Sales Department may be an excellent Sales Person himself and know how to train his staff in successful sales techniques and strategies, but as a manager of people and an organizational change expert, he may well be out of his depth. The same can be said for many managers in many different departments.

 All the brilliant change plans in the world will fail if those who are responsible for the action have no idea what they are doing and possibly, don’t believe in what they are doing. So the first step is ensuring the managerial teams understand what changes are being made and why, and what outcomes are being sought and why. They then need training in the best methodologies for introducing the new systems to their own departments. This requires a whole set of skills many managers lack, simply because it has not been something they have been taught before. This includes people skills, communication skills, and negotiating skills.

 But even if changes are not being introduced, Managers who want to improve the bottom line results of their departments need these same skills. By now it is a well known fact that a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Happy workers who enjoy a high morale and feel good about their employer, take more pride in their work and wish to see “their” company succeed. They look after the customers better. They take less sick leave. They’re find more efficient ways of doing things. They participate more. They work harder. This is good news for any company’s bottom line.

 The Manager in charge of this type of workforce is one who knows how to listen to his staff. He respects his staff and their abilities. He asks his staff for their input and promotes a team spirit. He cares about the individuals in his department and realizes that their individual success in a team environment results in success for the company. He knows how to handle trouble-makers and grizzlers and convert them into happy, productive employees. He understands the process of coaching and mentoring those in his care to produce the best results. He is clear with his instructions, and does not play the Dictator role. He does not waste his time looking over shoulders. Instead, he is available for his staff to bring challenges to for discussion and resolution.

 Learning to listen, observe, trust, guide and coach employees is not something that miraculously occurs when somebody is promoted to a Managerial position. It is up to the Company to assist their Managers by providing training for them, enabling them to be effective Coach-Mentor-Managers.

 Too often, when a department is seen to be in trouble, blame is laid at the departmental Manager or Supervisor’s door. Really, there is no excuse for a company putting somebody in a position of authority when they are ill equipped to handle it. This is a problem that will recur until organizations realize that managing people is not a natural ability inherited with a managerial title. Resources are available to train Organizational management teams, and often, all it takes is a phone call to put it into action.

I’d like to share some recent testimonials with you…

Within a couple of hours of just a simple presentation, I made $15,000. $15,000 just working with Terri for just a couple of hours. This is how powerful her teaching is and we’re just starting out. I’m looking forward to so much more. We’re building an amazing relationship. I am ecstatic and I know that things are just going to go up from there. I highly recommend Terri Levine.
– Jemila Williams

I have had the extraordinary experience of spending an entire day, one on one, with Terri Levine, the Guru of Coaching. And I have to tell you it made a huge difference for me personally and professionally. Oh my goodness, the breakthroughs we had. I had a quantum leap in my business and how we’re doing business development, how we’re impacting our bottom line, how we’re increasing our profitability. All these conversations I had with Terri when we spent a day together have ended up in those kinds of results. And for me as a business owner, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. I recommend that anybody give themselves the gift of working with Terri. She is extraordinary. She is savvy. She is wise, and at the end of the day, she is going to do great things to help take your business to the next level.
– Kristen Schuerlein

I’m here to tell you that Terri Levine is the real deal. As a coach, I personally haven’t met anybody so genuine, so loving, so giving of her time, her knowledge and her resources. I recently attended her one day speaking event and it was great. She just blew me away with all of the content that she gave us that we could implement immediately. I instantly found out the holes that I needed to fill in my own business and in my own life where I was stuck. It opened a lot of interesting doors for myself as a speaker and as a business woman. I am so grateful for Terri’s work and her giving and I cannot wait to work with her more.
– Susan Creal

There’s two things that are very special about Terri Levine. One is she has this amazing sense to analyze a business and determine what moves you can make to catapult that business into the stratosphere. One idea from a person like Terri who has this amazing sense for business can change that business tremendously. The other thing that is so special about Terri is her heart, her passion. And Terri has an amazing ability to take your passion and your experience and merge them into a business that you love and will create amazing results. Terri Levine, she’s the one.
– Les Schmidt

My first month with Terri gave me awesome momentum. It was an honor to complete her challenge and win the $1000 for my video.
This month, I added an unexpected $3000 to my income. She taught us to do things that stand out and I did a crazy e-mail promotion in a new target market.
So far I’ve ended up with fabulous testimonials, raving fans, and possible new clients, who are already referring their friends.
Warmest regards,
Lin Morel, MA, DSS