1. You really don't want to engage directly with customers, employees, etc.—you just want them to hear what you have to say.

2. You're not ready to create new roles, update process, re-distribute resources and budgets, re-train people, and revise old policies.

3. Social media actually threatens how you make money—but you pay lip service out of fear.

4. Politics.

5. You see it as a career advancing opportunity as opposed to a significant business transformation.

Reverse any of the...

I recently presented my pitch on personal branding at two lunch time events in Sunnyvale.  On the first occasion I wore tan corduroy pants with the shirt you see above.  And more recently I wore black pants with the same shirt.   I didn't really think too much about it except that I know this is a good color on me.

I started a small buzz when people realized that the business cards I was handing out before the event matched my shirt.  I had several people remark about it to ...

A Brand Evangelist is a person who promotes your brand without regard for compensation.  Their reward is the association with your brand.   Your brand becomes part of their identity.  The goal of any brand is to find and cultivate Brand Evangelists who can promote your brand everywhere without costing you a cent.  Social Media provides a great platform for you to grow some Brand Evangelists for yourself.

As you probably know, a fulcrum is the pivot point for a lever. And we know that Archimedes was planning to use a lever to move the world. But a lever by itself is worthless. It needs the fulcrum to actually do the leveraging. You are that fulcrum.

Part of a good brand is being focused on a dream that you want to come true. It is the thing that drives a personal brand. While branding is about creating im...

The most salient characteristics of the typical technology evangelist role include being:

• Proactive in rapidly connecting with others; open and generous in extending time and assistance; willing to build and leverage relationships to accomplish tasks and meet goals.
• Able to communicate large volumes of content rapidly and clearly. Enthusiastic and persuasive, motivating others by considering their points of view, and then adjusting the delivery to fit the specific individual.
• Collaborative,...