SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

11 Fishing Lessons of Leadership

Imagine a day on the water, a crisp cool breeze in the air. The smell of salt-laden air penetrates your soul. You have been looking forward to this taste of fishing paradise all week. As men we look forward to being one with the sea. A few hours on a boat can remedy almost anything that ails, at least temporarily. Bonding with the rod and reel we become one with the fish at sea. While many enjoy the time on the water for what it is, a sanctuary of freedom. I could not help but garner some lessons as my skin baked in the sun. Lessons that were plain as the tide was a rising. 1.) It’s not about the fish – as leaders we are guided to lead others to success. This can mean we forego our own big catch of success to help others. 2.) Change with the tide – both fish and business ebbs and flows with the current. We as leaders must adjust our strategies to accommodate changes. 3.) Different Bait – every fish and every person is unique. Just because you caught Reds the last time on live shrimp does not mean you will today. It is not a cookie cutter world, we must adapt as we lead. 4.) Small fish big fight – as with fish, people can be deceiving. You may be leading a group towards success and as soon as they get near the goal they run. Even a small fish can put up a good fight. […]

Why a Social Platform is Vital to Your Business

 Why a Social Platform is Vital to Your Business. In the day and age of social media there is no longer an excuse for  companies not be able to provide great customer service.  As a business owner, whether large of small you are under the scrutiny of the public eye. Yet it amazing how many companies will ignore their social customers. There are some companies that use the free or paid social media tools for good. They pay attention to what their customers are saying about not only them but also their competitors. For example I was having an issue with my cellphone and its data service. Out of frustration, I called them out on my Twitter account. Within moments of mentioning @T-Mobile in my comments I was tweeted back by their @T-MobileHelp account. This is the way a company is using the tools for good. By taking time to care and monitor their mentions they avoided me berating them further. One would think that all companies would handle their social platform in a similar manner. Not always the case. There is another instance recently where I took another company to task. Without giving them undo mention here, let’s just say I am still waiting for an answer. Not only can social platforms be useful marketing tools as well as quick customer service. These profiles also provide an online persona for the company. Many companies fall short when they are not being socially active. Nothing is more unsettling than when you find a site for […]

10 Blogger Tips To Get Noticed

10 Blogger Tips To Get Noticed. As a blogger we all have our own ways of doing the same things. Ultimately our goal is to have our voices heard. Some will do it with headlines, others with extreme SEO while others base it on their content alone. No matter what you write if it is engaging and interesting people will read it, otherwise … well. There are a few basic guidelines that if you follow them at least to some extent you might get noticed. Choose your topic – it really does not matter what the topic, as long as you choose one. Many bloggers take a shotgun approach and try to cover everything and in turn cover nothing. Whatever the topic stick with it, which is why you are being read in the first place. Nothing worse than a headline about leadership that spills into a story about your dog and peanut butter cookies. There are at least three posts in that one sentence if not more. Short and sweet – very blogger that has anything to say will start with nothing and in minutes have a book. Keep your blog posts short. The experts say anywhere from 500 to 1000 words with the happy medium around 700. Anymore and well you probably won’t get read. Break it up if you have to, make it bite size nuggets of great content. Edit your work – one of the biggest detractors is someone who cannot spell. Grammar and punctuation is not as important, but at least […]