The Hall of Sciences in Vienna has been an important meeting place to share knowledge since the 17th century. Over the last few days, the impressive, early baroque building has served as the venue for the 6th Global Peter Drucker Forum, bringing more than 30 intriguing speakers to inspire 400 onsite attendees and thousands of livestream participants from all over the world on the topic of the “The Great Transformation.”

The organizer has made it easy for the participants to network onsite as well as online. The coffee break and lunch area is organized around small tables without chairs, the participants mingle seamlessly through the room, and the large name badges make introductions easy. The speakers, many of whom are authors as well, are located in the same area, passionately sharing samples of their books and discussing with attendees.

The online conversation does not stop among the onsite attendees. Beyond focusing on the in-person experience, a significant number of the participants use Twitter to share observations and reflections important to them.

The conference Twitter hashtag #GPDF14 was established in the period leading up the event. During the event, the hashtag serves as the glue between the speakers, as well as the onsite and online participants, allowing everyone to tune into the conversation. It is easy to ping other people on Twitter, livestreamers or not, when something of special interest shows up:

As a tweeting attendee, you may use Twitter to suggest a spontaneous meet-up in the next break with other attendees to discuss a certain topic. Why not approach your favorite speakers and ask them which book they recommend given where you are in the business? If you can’t make it in person, use Twitter or LinkedIn if they have an open profile. You will be surprised to see how easy it is to connect with your key inspirational sources and start building relationships.

All in all, it is possible for attendees as well as online followers not only to maximize their own conference experience, but also to facilitate the learning for other people not following the conference. Non-attendees may get prompted to engage and learn, using Twitter as a wonderful university for new opportunities. Everybody wins: the organizer, the speakers, the attendees and the non-attendees.

On a personal note, these are the 7 key results of my #GPDF14 experience:

1. In-depth understanding of complex topics which are vital to the development of new offerings
2. Personal relationships initiated with 3 speakers of special interest
3. Clarity on which conference authors I want to prioritize over the next months
4. Unexpected learning on macro level topics which helps me put my own stories into perspective
5. A handful of long term nurture leads, emerging out of coffee breaks
6. Dramatic reduction of requests for business cards. We are finding each other on Twitter instead.
7. Facilitation of key learning points and inspiration to several business partners not attending the conference via Twitter

What is your game plan to get the most out of your next conference attendance? Or do you find yourself inspired to search for the conferences you can’t join in-person and follow the conversation via Twitter instead? I would love to get your comments and learn more about your experiences of what makes a conference valuable to you in the digital age.

The post The Ultimate, Blended Conference Experience In The Digital Age appeared first on Katy Caroan.

What happens if someone tells you “NO” upon a request? Are you understanding of others when they say “NO” to you? I sometimes compare this to asking someone for help: Asking someone for help could cause a feeling of disturbance, neediness and weakness. What happens if someone asks for your help? Do you really get irritated and perceive the other person as needy and weak?

The opposite often occurs, you feel a level of trust and would genuinely like to help if you can, or refer the person to somebody else. Along this parallel, when someone tells us “NO”, do we really get upset, hurt and see the other person as selfish? Or are we able to appreciate the clear and honest answer that allows us to move on?

It should be totally ok to say no if you have to sacrifice own needs to help someone else. Sometimes we may help, other times not.

I’ve searched the internet for good examples of saying “NO”, and here are a few lines that have proven helpful to me and might be helpful to you if you struggle sometimes as well:

1.I have a conflicting initiative.
2.I am not planning on doing this.
3.I have no intention of doing this.
4.This is not included as part of my priorities.
5.I am not available for this.
6.This is not interesting to me.
7.No.

I have to admit that the last one is the most challenging to me! What is your preferable way of saying “NO” to someone you want to nurture your relationship with? Where is your next opportunity to practice saying “NO” to others respectfully and learn how to keep your level of discomfort at a minimum level? If you are looking for a chance to get really close to your personal and unconscious values, you have a lot to look forward to when practicing your “NO”!

The post Mastering the art of saying NO appeared first on Katy Caroan.

I must have read hundreds of articles about why I should spend time on social media. And I have spent time reading articles about new tools that makes me save time and maximize my presence in social media to make it profitable. One of the most common questions I get is: “What is the return on investment on this initiative?”

There is a tendency to compare apples to pears, so I believe it is important to define “profitable”. Is it the number of new clients, increased revenue and profit as well as conversion of leads beyond traditional marketing only? Or should we even add things like number of referrals, percentage of returning clients and idea generation for new products and services as well?

Could it even be defined as profitable to be perceived as an authority within your area of expertise, to become the GO-TO-PERSON attracting new business opportunities through more PULL than PUSH? I believe so, and the challenge lies in the traditional calculations of return on investment. It takes time to build a trustworthy social media presence, and to be seen as a savvy social media player, you need to make the media you select support your unique position as a professional.

I understand that people might be hesitant to start blogging or using social media when there is an expectation to come up with something new all the time. Is this really necessary to be perceived as a contributor and effective social media user? From my own experience after supporting more than 100 professionals in embracing social media for themselves, there are 3 main reasons why some succeed and others don’t:

First, savvy, successful social media players are brave enough to share personal information without being private. Second, they are confident in what they want to use social media for and communicating this consistently. Finally, the savviest, most successful ones are the ones who share and acknowledge other people’s content whilst adding their own perspective to it.

People appreciate sharing, acknowledgement and new perspectives. And they want to do business with other people, not brands. This is what makes your social media investment profitable or not. In which way can you apply this in your professional situation?

More hints and tips on this will be available as part of YourVirtualArena.

The post The 3 secrets that make it profitable to be a savvy social media player appeared first on Katy Caroan.

So what is it that is new? I belong to the group of people who would claim that everything has changed, yet nothing has changed.

Everything has changed because more businesses and individuals than ever have access to technology and new communication channels only reserved for the few in the past. Everything has changed because in theory, a single individual or a small business owner can reach out and attract opportunities anywhere as long as there is an internet connection available. Along with the access and opportunities come the risks of becoming more visible and accessible to others, often not monitored and managed on this level before.

Yet nothing has changed. We are still humans with a variety of values, limiting beliefs and preferences in the way we communicate, collaborate and act with confidence when using the technology and the new communication channels.

This is why it’s never enough to learn the “HOW TOs” of social media, it needs to be combined with the authentic version of the communicator, listening, sharing and responding in a trustworthy way. It takes courage to share your own story, let your view become public and set the digital footprints representing the authentic version of yourself.

The catalyst to me personally was when I understood how I was perceived by others professionally. It wasn’t what I believed to be true. It was the essence of my professional reputation as seen by colleagues, managers and clients which gave me the confidence to continue setting digital footprints and take more risk than in the past.

So, in order to create lasting results on the social media scene, we should focus first on answering the key questions about ourselves, our professional reputation and what we are looking to accomplish when entering the scene. Then the “HOW TO’s” can be addressed more effortlessly.

The post Decoding the social media scene for lasting results appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Today’s social media tools enable us to listen to the market and communicate with colleagues, potential employers, customers and business partners in a new way, and this gives you a chance to tell your story, demonstrate your ambition and build your network effectively for long term relationships. You will also find yourself in a position where you can start attracting professional opportunities which may not even exist yet!

Surprisingly, many seems to believe that it will be sufficient to create those opportunities simply by creating an account and proving that they are part of the community without a defined strategy nor adding the behavior required.

Let me be very clear: It is not enough to “show up” at the social media scene, you need to successfully ENGAGE with others to build a trustworthy presence to build and nurture long term relationships. These relationships can then result in real life business opportunities and significant business results.

I have personally experienced the power of social media for creating new business via tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and now I’m in a position where I can help others do the same. Looking back on the early days of my business, I wish someone had told me that you need a strategy for this as well, like in any other major area of your business.

When people ask: “What would you have done differently now if you knew then what you know now”, my answer remains crystal clear: “I would have spent time initially to go on discovery. I would have loved to listen more carefully to where my target groups hang out, what they are preoccupied by and what they are struggling with. Then I should have investigated more carefully which social media preference I have, and where I should ask for help. And finally, I should have pulled together a simple 1 pager to spell out my social media strategy and STICK TO IT with patience.

I often hear people complain about the time spent on social media with unclear return on investment. It doesn’t have to be that way when you know by whom you want to be found and where you need to hang out to engage with your target market. You need to know what to ignore and what not to ignore, though.

The post Could you learn from other people’s mistakes in using social media to get results? appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Many of us were energized by her approach – how come we didn’t come up with this ourselves? The number made it much easier to commit to a daily challenge, a REALISTIC daily challenge. So, I’ve implemented the same approach when I work with my clients, and my experience is that the big fear of stepping out of the comfort zone becomes more manageable.

What did the local bank HR Director do to stretch herself 10% that day? Well, in front of the Finnish President Tarja Halonen, she started to dance salsa to waka waka tunes. Within minutes the full audience joined in and the so did the president. I still wonder what Tove Erikslund did the following day to stretch herself beyond that.

The post What can you achieve when stretching yourself by 10 percent? appeared first on Katy Caroan.

The answers might be easy at hand…or require a longer period to emerge as a result of our dialogue.

One of my most effective questions is: “How do You want to be perceived by others?”.

This question brings us to the key values and beliefs we live by in our daily lives, consciously and unconsciously.  This provides tremendous insights on which alternatives and decisions You in fact have at hand upon ANY challenge in life.

To many of my clients, the pattern language , the “self-talk”, on what is possible and not has taken precedence unchallenged for a long time. One of my clients recently stated “…I didn’t realize that I had an option to decide differently”.

This week I’m kicking off my very first LifeVille coaching game coaching my players to leverage LinkedIn strategically. This has nothing to do with how to push which button in the tool. It has all to do with mobilizing their network, challenging their visibility comfort zone, building their professional reputation and making a bold decision on how they would like to be perceived, by potential employers, clients and business partners.

Which pattern language is limiting Your opportunities in life?

The post Time to ask Yourself a powerful question appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Just a few days ago, I was invited by a friend to an event hosted by a government sponsored organisation supporting upcoming entrepreneurs. The event marked “the grand finale”  of  a 6 weeks workshop, allowing entrepreneurs to present and sell their ideas to an audience in 5 minutes only, followed by 3 minutes feedback. It was indeed a diversified and interesting collection of people and ideas. At the end of the event, the entrepreneurs seemed happy about their performances and the takeaways from the audience.

Now, 5 days later, which ideas do I, as an observer remember…and why?

Another friend of mine is an expert in the field of rhetorics. She is constantly challenging me and others to ask ourselves:  “What is your key message? What does it accomplish? And what’s in it for me?” And then she reminds me that communicating is so much more than words, it’s how you present it, how you are perceived, how you build trust…and not at least, how you manage to create emotions among your listeners.

So the simple answer to the above question is the following:

I recall the ideas where the presenter managed to create emotions supporting the facts and standard selling points.

I remember the presenters who demonstrated passion about their ideas and used more than words and facts to support their presentation.

My first employer taught me that the most effective presentation was one visual…one visual only. It takes courage to actually do so, but I’m finally convinced: There is no stronger selling point than talking passionately from your heart about something that’s important to you without disturbing elements. As a receiver, you might not agree with the idea, but it’s almost impossible to not get affected. And…you’ll remember it longer.

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to benefit from this. What do You do differently next time You want somebody else to like your idea? How well do You know your strengths as others perceive them and how do you leverage this when selling your idea? I’d like to inspire You to reflect more about this through an e-book issued by my partners Per Frykman & Karin Sandin: “You-a Brand”. By signing up for my newsletter at the bottom right corner, You will get Your own free copy and might dive into this topic further.

Imagine what You would be able to do if You actually had the knowledge about Your strengths and use this knowledge when selling Your ideas.  Let me know Your thoughts by commenting this post!

The post What makes other people remember Your idea among others? appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Act in order to transform thoughts into brave, bold and beautiful actions leading to a successful business of their own.

It often strikes me that there are so many people thinking of dedicating their professional life to their area of passion, but fewer are able to actually make the bold steps to do so. What are the triggers, the keys, the motivational drivers bringing some people the results they are playing for whilst others remain thinking?

When I look around I can certainly recognize some of the characteristics of the brave ones…because it shows! The bravest and most successful entrepreneurs share their idéas widely, they talk about their passion using more than words and they involve people around them to help them succeed. So, a simple answer to the question above might be:

“They know what they want, they communicate clearly and they mobilize their environments in terms of family, friends, networks, role models…and suddenly they find themselves role modelling others. And…they have insights about their true, personal brand, their professional reputation as perceived by others.”

As a coach, it is a true privilege to be seen as a partner when the client is visualizing the goal, unleashing the potential, nailing the niche, brainstorming the way forward, experimenting and learning from inner resistance until progress is perceived as firm results. From my own experience, I know what it means to have knowledge about my personal brand in terms of niching my services,  communicating boldly and asking other people for support. That’s why I’ve made a decision to offer my clients the same opportunity by holding a license in the conceptual tool “You – A Brand” by Per Frykman & Karin Sandin.

What would it mean to YOU if YOU had explicit knowledge about YOUR professional reputation and could make reality to YOUR professional ambitions within YOUR area of passion?

The post Brave, braver, … appeared first on Katy Caroan.