General Interview
Social media success Rx: "Be a little crazy"
Written by MofecoxyMix Wednesday, 11 January 2012 09:22
Clara Shih is an early achiever. At age five, she arrived in the U.S., from Hong Kong, with her parents. With no access to bilingual education, she was initially placed in special classes for kids with speech impediments and advanced so rapidly that she scored a 1420 on her SATs -- in eighth grade. She started her company, Hearsay Social, at age 27, made Fortune's list of last year, and married her neurologist boyfriend in October (delaying her honeymoon to attend the .) Last month, Shih was tapped to on the Starbucks () board. And today, she turns 30 years old. There is no better timing for the Hearsay Social CEO to share, well, lessons from her youth:
I head an enterprise software company called Hearsay Social, which I founded two years ago after realizing that social media is a fundamentally new business paradigm -- as big as, or even bigger than, the Internet was a decade ago. Hearsay is a platform that helps companies -- retailers, financial services firms, and anyone else with a lot of employees in a lot of locations --manage Facebook, LinkedIn (), Twitter, and Google+ (). We've raised $21 million in venture capital from Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates. We employ more than 60 people, and we were cash-flow positive in 2010, our first year of operation.
We think of our growth as a testament to the transformational power of social business. Consider this: A year ago, there were 500 million Facebook users, 100 million Twitter users, 50 million LinkedIn users, and 0 Google+ users (it did not yet exist). Today, there are over 1 billion people on Facebook, and the other networks too have more than doubled in size.
But our growth also reflects what I've learned along the way. I began my social-media journey in 2007, when I developed the first business application on Facebook, called Faceforce. It was this experience -- after working as an engineer at Microsoft (), in product strategy at Google, and then as head of the AppExchange at Salesforce.com () -- that led me to write a New York Times bestseller, The Facebook Era. Both the app and the book, which forecasted the rise of social business, helped me identify gaps in the market and pursue my real dream: building a startup.
Today, my business partner is Steve Garrity, whom I had met a decade ago in an introductory computer programming class at Stanford. He quit a safe job at Microsoft to join me in this venture. Steve is chief technology officer of Hearsay Social. I'm the CEO. Since we started the business in my apartment in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, here are a few key lessons we've picked up:
1. Move fast. In the rapidly evolving technology arena, it's critical to test and iterate new ideas quickly. Often, it's the fastest and most agile learner rather than the best first attempt that wins.
2. Focus. We work exclusively with corporate-to-local brands—major companies that have local branches or representatives. Our laser focus makes us prioritize our scarce startup resources and guides every decision we make, from what to build to how to sell to whom to employ. I believe this is one of our greatest strengths.
3. Listen more than you talk. We named the company "Hearsay" because, in the social media era, it's important for everyone in business to listen before they talk. I strive to do this with my team. In turn, our company does this with our customers. And we urge our customers to adopt this approach with their customers. It's a virtuous circle.
4. Lead by example. I know that only by being open, transparent, and collaborative can I inspire these same traits in others -- and attract more great people to Hearsay Social. So, everyday I try to get online as early as my first East-coast salesperson. And I stay as late in the office as our most bleary-eyed engineer.
5. Be a little crazy. People thought I was crazy when I was quoted in 2007 as saying that That idea seemed unfathomable then, but what I have come to realize is that, in Silicon Valley, anything is possible. As entrepreneurs, we must constantly dream and have the conviction and obsession to transform our dreams into reality – to create a future that never existed before.
Filed under: , , ,
On Buffett's wish list for 2012: Google and...
Written by MofecoxyMix Wednesday, 04 January 2012 09:35
What companies did Warren Buffett put on his wish list for Santa Claus?
The secret is out.
The Berkshire Hathaway () chief sent a photo of himself, perched on Santa's lap, and named several companies that he apparently believes will be great stocks to own in 2012.
Under the header, "Santa - 2011," Buffett listed Exxon Mobil (), Wells Fargo ()--both companies in which he already owns shares--and Google (). No public records indicate that Buffett has ever owned Google stock.
Does this mean that the Oracle of Omaha, who has mostly shunned investments in Silicon Valley, now has his sights set on Google?
Buffett answered in an email: "I just wrote out the list without much thought except to pick companies that we already owned as 'completed' and then just pulled the other names out of a hat--with an eye toward ridiculousness. The implication I hoped was that they were on a list designating those I hoped to own in their entirety, not just shares."
Hmm, owning Exxon Mobil and Google in their entirety does sound a bit ridiculous. But you can't accuse the man who built into America's seventh-largest company of thinking small.
Those "completed" companies that Buffett says Berkshire already owns in their entirety are GEICO, BNSF Railway, and McLane, a distribution giant that he bought from Wal-Mart () in 2003.
As for the last item on his Christmas list, "Youth Pills (for Charlie)," here Buffett is referring to Charlie Munger, his longtime business partner who turned 88 on New Years Day. Buffett is a relatively youthful 81.
And who is this Santa, upon whose lap Buffett sits? That is Michael Wilhelm, the brother of a good friend of Susie Buffett, Warren's daughter. Every Christmas, Wilhelm dyes his beard to play Santa and entertain the young 'uns in the Buffett crew--including Warren, we guess.
Filed under: ,
How Michele Bachmann tries to be Margaret Thatcher
Written by MofecoxyMix Tuesday, 03 January 2012 12:15
Michele Bachmann appears destined for a single-digit portion of the votes in today's Iowa caucus, but low Presidential poll numbers are not stopping her from comparing herself to Margaret Thatcher. In a final plea to Iowa voters, she said, "We need to have someone who's going to campaign and govern in the image of a Ronald Reagan and a Margaret Thatcher."
Bachmann is no Ronald Reagan. But after Mary Civiello wrote a assessing how Thatcher--as played by Meryl Streep in Iron Lady--lowered her voice tone to win audiences, I asked Civiello, a media and presentation coach, if Bachmann sounds anything like the former British leader she aspires to emulate. Referring to Bachmann as MB and Thatcher as MT, Civiello replies:
Michele would benefit from a little voice work, especially when she raises her volume.
Her voice doesn't hang in the screechy octaves that Thatcher's did in her earlier years, but she really has to watch it!
Visually, MB and MT are remarkably similar in style, gestures and eye contact, now that MB has figured out where the camera is.
Verbally, MB is very similar to MT in her staccato--the way she punches out a point and pauses.
See for yourself--Bachmann in Des Moines, explaining that she wants to be "America's Iron Lady":
Filed under: ,
Streep's Iron Lady shows us how to win a crowd
Written by MofecoxyMix Thursday, 29 December 2011 08:36
Last we heard from media and presentation coach Mary Civiello, she weighed in on lessons from the Oscar-winning The King's Speech. She's back in the movie theater studying another icon of British history: Margaret Thatcher, portrayed by Meryl Streep in Iron Lady. Civiello knows of what she speaks: She works with executives at such companies as Morgan Stanley (), American Express (), DreamWorks Animation (), Merck () and Fortune's parent, Time Inc. ()--and in fact, worked with my colleagues and me to help us win the crowd at the 2011 . Here's Civiello's latest dispatch from the cinema:
In Iron Lady, Meryl Streep shows us how hard Margaret Thatcher worked to become Prime Minister of England. That hard work included lowering her voice tone.
Her handlers told her that no one wanted to listen to--let alone be led by--a "screeching woman." They also told her to ditch her pearls. And while Thatcher kept the jewelry, she did work with a voice coach to lower her tone.
In fact, two recent studies focus on the value of lower-pitched voices. One study found that voters rated lower-pitched speakers higher for leadership potential, honesty, intelligence and dominance. The other study suggested that people--both men and women--with lower voices do better at attracting the opposite sex.
So, lowering your voice tone can mean reaching the corner office and finding someone interesting to dine with! I often work with women executives to use the lower range of what's natural for them. Here are my top three tips:
1) Recognize your range. Women have a greater pitch range than men, which means they are less likely to be monotone but more likely to hit squeakier octaves. I will tape clients when they don't realize it to illustrate their range. Clients also see that a higher pitch is often connected to nerves. When they're in the spotlight, everything, including vocal chords, constricts.
2) Relax. Breathe deeply, lower your shoulders, and loosen up before you start to speak. A Columbia University study suggests that tight body language before your perform leads to a less confident performance.
3) Rehearse right. As you practice your presentation out loud, place your fingers lightly against your throat. You'll feel your vocal chords rise and fall with your pitch and you'll be able to monitor your own progress.
If you want to lower your voice tone, know that it requires work over time. But for those who have the Iron Lady's will, it can pay off.
Here's a clip of Iron Lady, which opens for limited release Friday:
Filed under: , , ,
Powerful advice on proving yourself everyday
Written by MofecoxyMix Wednesday, 28 December 2011 09:32
asking if corporate women will ever be as powerful as corporate men prompted lots of discussion and a bit of inspiration.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg chimed in again, advising me to take credit and own my power. (Um, didn't I first to own her power, according to Ken Auletta's ?)
Hilary Rosen, also quoted in yesterday's Postcard, pinged me to say that years ago when she was taking the top job at the Recording Industry Association of America, she got the best advice from Jack Valenti, the late president of the Motion Picture Association of America: ""Always believe you are absolutely the best person anyone could have selected to do your own job--and then prove it to yourself every day."
Nice. I can live by that.
And this comment came from eBay communication chief Alan Marks, reflecting on my notion that it's OK if women don't reach the top of corporations as quickly as men, as long as we strive for major impact elsewhere: "The end game for everyone should not only be about a single role and destination but also about each of us having the freedom to make the choices that matter to us most."
Indeed, choice is the essence of power. Marks, incidentally, knows about powerful women: He worked for Hewlett-Packard () chief Meg Whitman when she ran eBay ().
Filed under: ,
More Articles...
Page 1 of 54
«StartPrev12345678910NextEnd»