SIPA UK: Real Live Personal Relationships Remain Key to Business Success

LONDON – OK, so getting here was less than smooth. A flight delay had me amusing myself in Philadelphia International to well past midnight. I kept saying to myself: it could be worse; they could be asking me to listen to country music. Apparently I said this aloud. The person next to me was a Toby Keith fan. I changed seats.

Then I realized that Gatwick airport is about as far from my intended hotel as Philadelphia is from my intended hotel. But fortunately, the taxi driver made the long drive seem much . . . well . . . longer. Apparently he was uncomfortable with silence. Apparently he doesn’t have teenage daughters. Apparently sticking my head out the window only signaled to him that I wanted his views on cell phones, child rearing and Israel.

When I arrived at the Grange Holborn Hotel for the meeting, I figured I was all set. Nice place. Nice people. And a terrific minibar. I looked like someone who hadn't slept in 24 hours. Puffy, glassy eyes made me wonder about the question, "Do you need help with your bags?" Then I received this email from Andy McLaughlin, president of PaperClip: “Dude, you’re at the wrong hotel.” Indeed. I was at a Grange, but Grange City Hotel was the site of the conference. At this point I felt doing anything right was becoming less likely, and was certain that when I opened my suitcase I would find clown clothes.

The conference, once I cabbed it from the Grange to the Grange (apparently the Brits have the same affliction as the Yanks: we can only think of so many names to call things), I was greeted warmly and my presentation was received.

Here are some of my takeaways from other speakers, notes I jotted down between fatigue-induced fits of wanting to giggle or cry. A friend of mine said I was experiencing menopause. I found myself having trouble regulating my body temperature. This confirmed her diagnosis.

Alex Connock, CEO, Ten Alps plc. The guy buys companies. At least that was my impression. He came from a television background, and offered lots of fun pictures. OK, I was sitting in the back of the room with a seven-year old named Alex McLaughlin, a sunny-faced, spring-in-his-butt, iPod-wearing kid who had a terrific sense of humor. That is to say, he laughed at my jokes. His dad was the one who calls me “dude.” But Mr. Connock had some terrific insights and philosophies. In this phase of information creation and sharing and producing, “no one knows anything.” This was music to my ears. Finally, for the first time in my career, I feel like everyone has caught up with me. I have made a living out of not knowing anything. He had encouraging words for event developers: “Conferences are the sexiest sector of publishing. People want face to face meetings.” This was my first light bulb at the event (and by light bulb I mean "a learning moment"). In this age of virtual relationships and virtual everything, will all of us living our lives – both our first and our second – through computers, the basic tenants of business survive. I want to meet you, know you and, if I trust you, I want to do business with you. Connock put so much stock in this he said that a critical asset for the companies he buys is how well they understand their clients and can articulate their client relationships. Connock showed a number of internet TV, telly, or television channels his firm has created, signaling internet B2B television as something we all likely should, will or may want to consider developing. Like, for example, in the next ten minutes. The many images he had in his presentation were fun and stimulating. I, on the other hand, had a picture of a chimpanzee.

Speaking of primates, Phil Binkow, Financial Operations Networks LLC, took the theme of customer relationships another step further. He described during the course of launching his service that his firm interviewed 260 customers, with the interviewers applying an “enthusiasm rating.” He said audio programs, live events, certification services, etc., contributed to the community building in his market. It was during Phil’s presentation that I was in the throes of fatigue, fighting back tears and titters at the same time. No reflection on Phil’s content, more of a reflection on my own physical and mental limitations.

William Buist, Managing Director, Abelard Management Services and Coordinator, E-cademy Black Star members’ forum, is in the business of connecting business people. He sees his job as “helping people in the conversation.” The value in social networking he said is “what people say about you to people who don’t know you.” If what you offer is invaluable, people will say so. The Black Star service is a great example of what can only be described as premium social networking, where not just anyone can take part and join, which in itself makes me want to take part and join. Of course, letting me in will reduce my opinion of the service, but that’s a another story. It is a life members club, a group of like-minded individuals, that comes with a high price ticket. In the US we call that "being Republican." Buist stressed the importance of a vision for your community. Without it, the community is rudderless, I think he said.

Jem Stone, FM Portfolio Executive, BBC, surveyed the many blogs – the “too many” blogs – hosted by BBC. Stone was frank about the BBC’s efforts in this area, easily calling out what has worked and what hasn’t, and proudly sharing that BBC is not too proud to kill off a blog that isn’t doing well. His ability to be frank comes from the fact that a number blogs appear to be doing really, really well! He emphasized that creating good blogs and meaningful social networks is real work that requires real passion on the part of participants. He bristled at the comments of one blogger who, in his own blog, made the whole thing sound like obligatory shift work and a one-way chat with strangers. Bollocks! OK, he didn’t say that. I did. Just now. Must be the bangers and mash I had for breakfast? I just looked up the term, and apparently it's taboo. Really? Anyway . . . . Stone said the whole thing, the whole social networking thing, is not just creating a blog and walking away and hoping for the best. It’s a lot of work and the people who do it well actually care deeply about it. They don’t have to remember to file a blog entry, they are impelled to do so. He listed Technocrati and Bloglines as excellent tools for monitoring your firms in blogspace. I really liked one blog Stone illustrated. Rather than asking simply for a comment on blog entries, the invitation said “complain about this post.” Love it! He also said that if what you are creating is something like a discussion board, just don’t call it a blog.

Anthony Ray, Director, Stingray Research, said it is important to provide information that is extremely specific and has immediate and obvious value to the customer. He echoed the refrain about talking to your market and understanding their underlying motivations and emotions. “We talk to a lot of teachers,” he said. “Teachers want to feel in control. They gain emotional satisfaction when they feel in control. And they like to receive kudos.” His company helps meet those needs. He also felt what you call features is extremely important. “Don’t call it a chat room just because everyone else does,” he said. Or at least that’s what my notes say.

David Foster, president, Business Valuation Resources, LLC, had a lot of good stuff to say. I didn't write down any of it. He likes novels, for example. I was too busy trying to think of what I was going to say, or make my panel partner Jane Wilkinson, marketing director, Euromony Institutional Investor, laugh while David spoke. I glanced down at one point to see that Jane had written a few notes down about my presentation, “Shaking the Cushions for Coin: Finding Revenue in the Content Niches (pronounced “nitches”), but realized she was sitting where I was earlier in the day, and I had left my own speaker’s notes at the presenter’s table. I was admiring my own notes. David, please share with us a few insights here. You have many. And there is no need to mention my name and “animal eroticism” in the same presentation ever again. It was apparently misunderstood by many. When I got back to the Grange Holborn last night, there were three zebra having a smoke in my room saying they wanted a word with me. After a couple bottles of gin they calmed down. We even shared a few laughs. Exchanged email addresses. Promised to write, etc. Zebra are really jerks, by the way. I will no longer feel bad for them in documentaries about lions. Oh, I remember, David also recommended reading Wikinomics. I made a joke about downloading the audiobook, but accidentally purchased Wicca-nomics. Apparently jokes about making money from witchcraft just isn’t funny. Note to self.

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