Want To Connect At SXSW Whether You Have A Ticket Or Not?

I love this time of year in Austin.  There's a creative funky vibe that fills the air as March picks up steam.  And it's more than just the beautiful spring weather that's blown in to take memories of the past cool winter months away for another year.  No it's SXSW time in Austin, Texas and the air is right for connecting!

SXSW is an amazing conference that brings the best and the brightest from music, film and a technology (interactive everything - web, gaming, technology, business) together for 9 days.  Having spoken an attended SXSW previously I have to say those who are lucky enough to score a ticket to this year's conference are in for a treat.  Not just from the amazing sessions, music and films one can see but for the incredible people one can meet, engage and connect with.

Everyone knows that attending sessions is a great place to meet people.  It's the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation as you're waiting for a panel to begin or a speaker to take the stage.  Although many people miss this golden opportunity to ENGAGE.  They settle into their seat and immediately start playing on their laptops or fiddling with their Blackberries or IPhones. 

Want to connect? try unconnecting for a little while.  Put away the devices and engage the person next to you, in front of you or behind you.  Ask them what brought them to this session?  Ask them what sessions they've already attended and what did they like?  Ask them for any recommendations on sessions you shouldn't miss.  Ask them where they're from and how they like Austin.  Share with them what you love about Austin and what should be on their not to miss lists while they are here.

Each of these simple but powerful conversation starters will get you engaged in conversation and perhaps connecting with someone that could prove to be a powerful resource, professional alliance, a ticket to a great party (hey it happens - I met some powerful people from Pay Pal one year), or heck just a new friend.  Not a half bad result any way you slice it if you ask me!

But you don't just have to have a ticket to capitalize on all the hub bub but you do have to participate.


Let me explain.

Let's say you don't have a ticket to this year's SXSW....no problem!  There are tons of places in and around the convention center that people will be hanging out.  Coffee shops, bars, restaurants galore are within walking distance of the Austin Convention Center.   All places guaranteed to be packed with tons of people who are attending the conference or simply want to be near the incredible vibe that permeates downtown Austin.  This means there is no shortage of engagement, connection and conversation opportunities!

If you don't know where to go check out the Serious Eats BLOG for some great ideas.


Regardless of whether you are attending the conference or not you can still strike up incredible conversations with those who are.  In fact in year's past, I've made even more connections hanging out at the local coffee shop, grabbing a mid-afternoon beer (met one of the Flickr Executives doing that) or just going to one of the bars or clubs after hours than I have in many of the conference sessions.  In fact engaging those people in conversation you meet "out and about" is even easier because there's no speaker about to go on stage or other conference distractions to limit your conversation time.  If the conversation goes well you might just find yourself downing more than one cup of coffee or multiple beers and is that such a bad thing?  I should think not!


So how do you engage those people that you see out and about?  I knew what you were thinking before you even thought it. 

Why you Ripple your way to starting a conversation of course!

You might start with a question like....

So are you attending SXSW?  How do you like it so far?

Where are you from?

So what do you think of Austin so far?

What sessions, bands or films are you excited to see?

What portion of the conference are you most excited about?

The point is it takes very little to get the conversation ball rolling and whether you are actually attending or not, this next week and half opens up so many opportunities for you to engage in some amazing conversation opportunities with incredible people from around the world.  Don't let it pass you by just because you may not have a ticket.  There's too much cool stuff going on that's free or near free to not be doing your own SXSW 2010 tour.

I'm off to speak at Microsoft and so bummed to be missing my own connecting opportunities.  So do me a favor...pinch hit for me will ya?  Go create some connections and make some lasting Ripples.  Trust me...you can thank me and fill me in on your people adventures later over a beer!

Ripple On!!!

Segment From A Recent Presentation

Figured I would share a portion of a presentation that I recently gave to a chapter of the American Society for Professional Training and Development. In this segment I talk about one of my favorite movies Rudy how it inspired me to Ripple and connect.

Hope you enjoy it and if you feel like your company or organization could benefit from my Ripple message, I would love to hear from you!

Ripple On!!!

Here's the link in case the video player does not show up in your RSS feed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPxQB9Gi1nI

Naked, Dripping & Focusing

Who do you need to connect with? Do you have a list? Do you take the time to review and focus on it daily?

If you answered no then you're missing the boat.

Each day I wake up and take a few minutes to go over in my head the people and companies I most need to make a connection with. Sometimes I think of the people I need to reconnect with, you know, those people that it's been too long since we last spoke and I need to reengage them to see what's going on. Sometimes it's people I need to introduce to one another because it would be of mutual benefit for them to meet. Oftentimes its companies or organizations I want to most connect with so that I can discuss opportunities to present at an internal training or upcoming corporate conference. More often than not, it's someone who appears on my allstar list and I need to take some decisive action forward to make the possibility of connecting with that person possible.

The entire process takes a matter of minutes and is something I do each day - often while I am toweling myself off from the shower. It's one of these few times in my day that I can put my actual physical being on autopilot and let my mind focus on what and where I direct it. By taking the time to focus, even for a few minutes, I allow my mind to get really creative. Some of my best ideas about how to connect people or how to take that next important step to meet someone like a Howard Schultz or Steve Jobs come during these times.

I leave the house each morning (of course dry) charged up and ready to take the next step and let me tell you this little bit of focus has made a world of difference in the amount of connections and Ripples that have come into my life. Though I am quite certain many of the people I've thought about would not take too kindly to my thinking of them while I am naked and dripping wet -you and I will just keep that our little secret okay?

Don't just take my word for it give it a try for yourself. What do you have to lose? You're already dripping wet and naked in the morning anyway....I'm just saying might as well use that time more wisely!

Ripple On!!!

Yahoo - A Connecting Company

It was 3PM on Wednesday afternoon and most of the employees of Yahoo were gathered in the courtyard of the corporate campus. Earnings had just been announced the day before and a grim outlook of 1,500 jobs, 10% of Yahoo's workforce, had been announced would be cut over the coming months. The gathering was an all hands meeting. An opportunity for company leadership to openly talk about last quarter's performance and highlight objectives for the upcoming quarter.

It would be easy to imagine a lot of sullen faces filled with looks of worry and concern. But that just wouldn't be the Yahoo way. You see the people who work for Yahoo are passionate. In speaking with several employees during a post-meeting party known as Yahoo Oktoberfest, though people are understandably concerned they remain none-the-less optimistic and downright passionate about where the company is going. It was certainly not something I expected.

Actually what I realized as we enjoyed lots of the various varieties of beer with our gracious Yahoo hosts, Yahoo really is good at connecting. Whether it be the after earnings all hands meetings where executives not only address the state of the company but make themselves available to mix and mingle over a cold beverage, or just the open format in which quarterly parties like this one make it easy for Yahoo employees to meet and connect with one another. It was both impressive and inspiring to see just how upbeat and positive everyone was and I had enough conversations with people to know it wasn't just the free beer and brawts talking.

In fact I was a little apprehensive about being invited to such a private corporate event. My visitor badge more than pointed out I was not an employee of the company. But any trepidation I may have initially felt instantly vanished when someone tapped me on the shoulder while I was in one of the keg lines to say, "Welcome to Yahoo! Can I get you some food to go with the beer?" From there it only got better. People came up and introduced themselves completely unprompted. Conversations went from the cursory, "oh your from Austin - I love Austin," to the more direct and engaged conversations about why Yahoo is such a "kick ass place to work."

I met people in a million years I would never have had a chance to meet. People were incredibly friendly and again I believe it was more than just the beer talking. No, it was genuine passion and workplace evangelism. I observed several different people connecting from various departments for the first time. I watched people have serious conversations about what had just been revealed in the all hands meeting. I watched problems being solved and creative conversations happen and ideas sprout up that would get jotted into iPhones, Blackberries or the occasional palm of a hand. More than once I had to remind myself of my amazingly good fortune to be standing right there in the middle of it all. It was truly inspiring.

This gathering was more than just a great opportunity for employees to have a few beers -that would be too tech company passe. No this gathering was straight up connecting - both on the corporate level and on an employee to employee basis. It was great to see a company that has had a few bumps in the road can still engage its employees in such a way that it further inspires the troops to ooze Yahoo purple.

There is no doubt in my mind that Yahoo is every bit a connecting company - their employees are proof of that!

Ripple On!!!

Connecting Works

Today I sit in my hotel room in Sunnyvale, California prepping for two days of meetings with both Google and Yahoo. In large part these meeting and subsequent opportunities came from the very words that I preach day in and day out on this BLOG.

Simply put....connecting works.

Both of these meetings came from my ability to shortcut the typical transparency of most business associations and establish real connection with the people out here. I took the time to create real inroads and lay the groundwork in hopes of creating more than just connection with my intended audience. The investment I made in both time and effort I believe is the foundational piece which insures a strong and fruitful relationship.

Who is that brass ring connection you want and need to make?

It is possible to make that connection you know?

What are you waiting for?

Come on....go for it! You just never know where that journey may take you.

Look no further than me for proof of that.

Ripple On!!!

Jelly Helps Make New Friends & Connections

Imagine working in a place where everyone around you was enthusiastic, excited and totally jazzed. Now imagine that all of the people around you bring a unique blend of experience, entrepreneurship and incredible passion for the various projects that they are working on. Their unique energy, skills and specialized knowledge and experience is there and available for you to call upon at a moments notice. Sounds pretty cool right?

Brian Massey, my friend and self-proclaimed Conversion Scientist, first told me about just such an environment where people gather in a casual coworking environment called Jelly. He and I were scheduled to meet for a catch up coffee and he suggested that we meet at the weekly Jelly being held in North Austin. What I found that day and since is an incredible network of interesting people, working on interesting stuff and having a good time doing it....together.

Jelly groups are popping up all over the country and attracting all sorts of people -not just hardcore programmers and web developers. In fact more people are utilizing Jelly as a way to demo their wares, test new ideas, discover collaborative partners and complementary projects and stimulate a whole new way of working.

Coworking offers a unique blend of collaboration, innovation and yes, connection. The people you will meet at Jelly are likely people you would never discover on the happy hour circuit or at your local chamber luncheon. These people are edgy. They people are serious. These people are going places.

I find the people that I have encountered so far to be both motivating and inspirational - helping me breathe new life and drive into my own professional ambitions. The enthusiasm and creativity at work when you go to Jelly is truly something magical and it can only help stimulate your own creative juices and forward momentum. Plus the ability to share a cup of coffee and a quick conversation about a new project, a difficult problem or simply a common interest has the potential to create Ripples beyond imagination. Jelly makes it easy to find and make new connections and as you all know, I'm all for that!

Check out Jelly's main website and their wiki to see if there's a Jelly in your city. If there's not, there's instructions on how to get your own Jelly started. I'm also including a video about the whole Jelly experience too.

Hope to Ripple with you are a Jelly soon!!!


What is Jelly? from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

Ripple Connection Question Of The Week

Ripple Connection Questions are a unique way to engage people in conversation. Whether with a complete stranger or someone you already know, but want to know better, using Ripple Connection Questions (RCQ) accelerate the dialogue and deepen the connection. The questions are by design, fun to ask and fun to answer, and can take your connection to an entirely new level. Come on, break out of that shell of yours and start Rippling.

So I would imagine that most of you, like me, had an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. Mine was spent watching lots and lots of college football, U.S. Open Tennis, NASCAR and even made it out to watch my beloved Albuquerque Isotopes come to town to beat our local Round Rock Express AAA baseball team. It was a great weekend filled with lots of downtime with the family and some much needed relaxation.

Labor Day marks the official end of the summer (sad) and it's the last big holiday before Thanksgiving so hopefully none of us wasted it. So that got me thinking about this week's Ripple Connection Question.

What was the funnest thing you
did this Labor Day Weekend?

This question will undoubtedly give you insight into the people you want to connect with. People love talking about their adventures so why not use this week as an opportunity to stir your conversation in a completely different direction and see what turns up. You may just discover that person you are connecting with has similar hobbies and interests to yours. How cool would that be?

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Tips For Better Conversation

I read a very interesting article this morning and thought it offered some strong and compelling ideas about how to make any conversation more engaging. Check it out and let me know what you think.

How to think, faster, better on your feet

Ripple On!!!

Never Underestimate The Power of the Smile

There's a young lady that works for a company in the same building where I have my office that has one of the most engaging smiles I have ever seen. She's a young, enthusiastic personality that truly lights up when she greets anyone. She obviously enjoys her job and her infectious approach to representing the company obviously benefits their organization in numerous ways.

Recently she stopped me in the hall to ask me where my next speaking appearance was going to be. Apparently she had picked up a copy of my book and had fallen in love with the concept of Rippling and wanted to come see me present on it in person. She chatted a bit about how she was applying the strategies to her own personal and professional relationship building and how the Ripple of a smile had actually landed her her current job.

It seems that her mother had always told her that a young lady, if she wants to be noticed, always wears a big smile, maintains eye contact and always has something relevant to say. She said after college she tried to follow her mother's advice but seriously doubted the applicability of the smile part. That was until she met her current boss.

It seems she was attending a function on behalf of the company she worked for at the time. She said this man approached her from out of no where and told her that she had a smile that was hard to miss and he needed people working for him like that. She initially worried that he was actually hitting on her but the more they spoke and the more she got to know him she knew his approach wasn't some veiled come on line. He was serious!

They continued chatting throughout the night. Because she was well read about the local Austin economy they ended up chatting about a number of relevant topics related to his business and her own professional interest. That was nearly two years ago and she has continued to advance right up the career ladder with this company. She told me that her mother's advice coupled with what she was learning by Rippling was a secret weapon that many young women (and men) should learn. I was of course humbled by her story and extremely appreciative of her sharing it with me.

Never underestimate the value of a smile, eye contact and a relevant way to keep someone engaged in a conversation. You just never know where the Ripples may lead!

Connecting As A Task To Be Managed

One of the biggest excuses I hear from business people as to their inability to get out and meet new people (connect) is the lack of time. We all have busy lives. Personal pressures, professional obligations and a litany of other things which demand our time, energy and attention. At the end end the day who has time to get out and meet new people?

Its a problem even I struggle with. I receive nearly 400 emails per day. I have more phone calls than I can possibly count. I am directly responsible for three companies and a new start-up and have a family to boot. It would be easy to throw my hands up and say, "I'm simply too busy!"

And I would be doing myself a huge disservice.

Connecting with new people and taking the time to strengthen connections with those people you want and need to know better is one of the most most important things I think I do on a daily basis. It's critical to my present and future success and I suspect yours as well.

Getting out and connecting with new people is something I have had to literally force myself to schedule into my day. Whether it be scheduling an early morning coffee or breakfast with a new contact or dedicating a space of time after lunch to simply pick up the phone and have a check in conversation with someone I've recently met. I literally have to manage the "effort" as a task on my very overgrown To Do List. However when I have it committed to paper and it stares me in the face every day, it becomes easier to plug through and just do it. Before long it doesn't end up feeling like a task at all. It becomes something I actually look forward to each day. Without a doubt it breaks up the monotony of the other less exciting or not so stimulating tasks I must complete during a given day.

Try scheduling blocks of time today to get out there and connect. Give it a try won't you? You'll be glad you did!

Ripple On!!!

Fly Fishing Leads To Better Connecting

So during my vacation I got the opportunity to do a lot of fly fishing. I must first say that I am not an experienced fly fisherman. However having done it a few times over the past few years I have grown to love the sport and have gotten myself proficient enough that I can catch more fish than I lose.

There is something quite majestic and magical about the process. It is quite different from what I normally do which is bass fish. There's a completely different technique, approach and attitude that comes with fly fishing. Aside from the actual process of catching fish I find that sitting in a river and listening to the natural beat of the pulsating water actually has to be one of the most relaxing things I have ever done.

While standing in a stream in Colorado last week soaking in the incredible scenery, sounds and rhythm of a perfect mountain day something happened. I began to realize how similar the technique and approach I was taking to casting my fly out into the oncoming stream was to actually connecting with someone new. The analogous processes struck me as so incredibly similar, I just had to share.

To fly fish well you have to be willing to put yourself out there in the river with the fish. The water is often rough, cold and you constantly have to pay attention to your footing otherwise you might lose your balance and go for a rather unpleasant swim. The same rules apply when looking to make new connections. You have to be aware of your environment and be willing to put yourself in the position to make the right connections. Similar to fishing I think connecting requires a good bit of balance as well; balance in understanding who you are and what it takes to encourage people to want to get to know you.

Not only do you have to be out in the water but you have to gracefully move upstream. You have to navigate the oncoming water and river slick rocks to constantly move yourself forward to new spots to cast your line. Bad fisherman are often too aggressive as they move upstream. They splash, make noise, walk heavy and ultimately scare the fish off. Similarly to connecting I think one needs to constantly be willing to step forward and be open enough to look for new people to connect with whenever or wherever they may be. Whether it be at Starbucks, your son's soccer game, church, the neighborhood BBQ or the chamber luncheon. And of course like with fishing you can't walk up to a complete strange with an attitude of aggressiveness or arrogance lest they will swim away right before your very eyes.

Fly fishing is a graceful sport that requires the right preparation and equipment before you step foot into the river. A fly fisherman has to have a wide variety of flies to offer the potential fish because often times the fisherman won't know what might attract the fish until he or she is already in the thick of the river. That takes planning, preparation and a keen sense of awareness of what is working and what is not. Just like with connecting with someone new. You need to be prepared to engage people in a manner that makes them want to hear more of what you have to say. You have to have know what attracts people and keeps them engaged. You have to know that if something isn't working that you need to try something else. This takes practice and constant refinement but like with fishing it is an art form.

So you have moved up stream and found a good spot. You have the right fly on the end of your line. You have the right technique and presentation to perfectly lay that fly just upstream and you watch as it peacefully floats on of the bubbly surface. THEN WHAM - a fish hits! This is when the adrenaline starts pumping and in that split second you have to react and hook the fish. Fly fishing is such that the line where the fly is attached is very delicate. Be too aggressive in setting the hook and you will pull the fly out of the fish's mouth or worse...break your line. There is a real finesse to hooking the fish and playing it back to you. You have to be patient and mindful of the fish's pride. Some fish fight harder than others and it takes a certain calmness and fortitude to turn all your focus and attention to the fish and let the situation play out. But if you show the fish the respect it deserves eventually it calms down and you can slowly begin to pull the fish towards you. If done right the results will be so worth it.

Networking, connection or simply engaging people in general is very similar. Once you have their attention it is important to take your time and don't rush things. No one cares what you do, what you sell or if you need a job or not. People will follow their urge to dart upstream when your objectives are your primary focus. You have to put your time, energy, attention and focus on them period! Connecting is a delicate game and rushing to force feed a connection a business card, sales pitch or whatever will result in a broken line of connection every time.

Just like with your fish, you have to let things play out. You have to show your connection the respect he or she deserves. You do that by demonstrating a genuine interest in learning about them and who they are as a person first. You take your time and ask engaging and insightful questions (Ripple Connection Questions) and if done right the results will so be worth it.

The river is flowing and there are lots of fish out there. How many are you preparing to catch?

I have an extra set of waders so come on in the water is perfect!

Shortcut The Connection

So if you are a regular reader of my BLOG you know that I often post different Ripple Connection Questions that we use throughout my public and private 8 Minute Ripple events. These connection questions are designed to help people engage and connect quicker and with a more positive result than what one might expect. I personally believe the questions, when used appropriately, help shortcut the connection and relationship building process and open up a world of current and future dialogue jumping off points.

Let's face it in today's society we aren't very good at communicating. Sure we meet people, we talk to them, we exchange pleasantries but at the end of the day how much do we really learn or know about them? For most people, especially in at a networking or social event, the depth of knowledge that they learn from the people they meet rarely goes beyond what the other person does for a living or who they work for. I call that surface information and surface information nets very little relevant or substantive insight. Plus let's face it....it's often boring and uninteresting information when you come right down to it.

So why do it?

Well, for most people it's the only way we know. It's our default strategy to ask someone what they do or where they work just to have something, anything to say. We push and we prod about surface subjects and wonder why we aren't making the kinds of connections we really want or need in our lives or careers.

People cross you path in life for a reason. It's up to you to figure out why. Ripple Connection Questions or heck, just any insightful question, that helps you cut through the surface layer of someone to learn something, anything meaningful has to be better. Doesn't it? Don't answer that question because you already deep down inside know the answer.

There is an old saying that people do business with people they know, like and trust. Well whether you are pushing a sales quota, building a business or looking for your next job, that saying has meaning for us all. The kinds of connections we make are dependent on our ability to make them the most that they can and are intended to be. I would submit that in order to do that, you have to gain some better insight into the people you are meeting and make your interactions relevant.

Very little or dare I say it....no relevance comes from surface connections. So quit making them.

Dig deeper.

Ask better, more insightful questions.

Don't let opportunities pass you by.

Don't make that one interaction your only interaction. Call them following an event - ask them to lunch or out for coffee. Do something to keep the momentum going and keep exploring, learning and connecting.

Enjoy the process of connecting and people will enjoy connecting with you.

Ripple On!!!

Would You Take The Chance?

What if I were to tell you that the single most important connection you could ever make was going to appear in your life in the next few days. You know, that one connection that could change your life, your career, your level of happiness and your level of success forever. Yes...that one.

Would you be ready? Would you be willing and able to step outside your box to make sure that their appearance in your life wouldn't go unnoticed? Would you be willing to raise that head in a crowd and keep it raised? Would you be willing to smile at everyone? Would you be willing to engage everyone for fear of missing that all important one? Would you be ready?

Seems like a dramatic line of questioning but is it? I mean seriously, think about how you have acted and responded just in the past week. Have you been willing to step up to the plate and engage a random stranger in conversation just because they were there? Have you looked and I mean really looked at the people who have crossed your path just in the past week? Have you kept an ever vigilant eagle eye (homage to my dad) open for those people who are showing up in your life for some yet unknown reason?

I know it is hard. I know it takes practice. I know it takes effort. I know it means taking a chance, rolling the dice and coming up short a lot of the time. But does that mean you just give up, or worse yet, never try at all?

I can make one definite proclamation about your life and for many of you, it's without ever personally meeting you. There is a plan. You are in it. Other people have a role in it as well. Those people will pop up at the most unusual and often inconvenient times, or so it may seem at the time. But let me let you in on a little secret.....

They are there and are always there for a reason. Wouldn't you want to know why? Would you want to discover what role they were supposed to play in your plan? I know I sure would. I know I would not want to miss that opportunity for fear of it never coming back again.

Life is a gamble. You have to be willing to risk a little to gain a lot. The people you want and need to know are out there; heck they have already surrounded you these past few days. Are you going to simply let them slip in and out of your life like sand through your fingers or are you going to hold on tight and see where the ride takes you?

The most important connection you will ever want or need to make is still out there.....waiting for you to notice them. Take the chance.

Ripple On!!!

Ripple Challenge

I am officially back from a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend spent in El Paso celebrating the grand reopening of Rosa's Cantina (see last post). It was a fun weekend filled with many laughs, unbelievably good authentic Mexican food and of course, my favorite, many cold beers. It was a great time and my wife, kids and I really enjoyed spending time with my folks, my brother and his wife and of course the proud owners of Rosa's Cantina, my sister and brother-in-law.

Congratulations Debbie and Adolpho for both a successful weekend and the incredible job you have done making Rosa's a great restaurant and bar. Marty Robbins would be proud no doubt!

On to today's BLOG post....

So this week I want to suggest a challenge. I talk often on this BLOG about the importance of connecting with others and why it so critical to not overlook the people who cross your path in life. I get positive comments, emails and have many wonderful conversations about the topic but it still makes me wonder how many of you are actually out putting my advice and suggestions to actual use. Which of course got me thinking......

Why not challenge you to go out and connect this week. Simple. Easy. Straightforward.

So here's the deal:

I want you to make a conscious effort to make some sort of connection with two complete strangers this week. That's it! Simple enough right? The only rules are you must engage this stranger in a conversation that lasts longer than two minutes. You must get the person's full name and reveal your name to them as well. You must stay away from the sucker subjects and questions surrounding what they do for a living or where they go/went to school. You must legitimately ask some sort of insightful question (perhaps do a search at the top of this BLOG for Ripple Connection Questions) and obtain at least one meaningful piece of information about said stranger.

Think you are up to the challenge?

Well take the Ripple Challenge and see if by stepping outside your box to engage someone else doesn't make their day and yours. Feel free to email me at steve at ripplecentral dot com or post via a comment to this BLOG post the outcome and results of your challenge.

Come on people....it's time to quit being a passive watcher of life and get in the game and start playing. The very connection you make might open up a world of possibilities for you, your life and your career. Not a bad upside eh?

Good luck and happy connecting!

Ripple On!!!

I Twit, They Twit, We All Twitter

So last year at SXSW I started using a service everyone was talking about called Twitter. It's a unique way to keep friends, family, fans, etc. informed of 'what you are doing.' Well I used it several times last year during the conference and to be perfectly honest, never thought about it again....until this year's SXSW Conference.

I dusted off the old log in, requested a new password (I only use three so I was shocked it wasn't one of those) and bam! I was back Twittering with what I found to be a huge community of other people around the world. Upon logging on and seeing all the buzz from those in attendance at SXSW I suddenly felt like the kid left out of the school yard pickup football game. "Hey cool kids..I want to play!"

So I did.

I got back on Twitter and started giving updates every so often. Before long I found I had two people following me. Then three. Then four. Now I have about fifty new people I would never have found nor would have likely found me had it not been for Twitter. I have become addicted to giving updates and to checking in on my Tweet Posse to see what's happening in their lives.

I originally had the question about whether anyone would give a rat's you know what what I was up to on a daily basis but to my surprise....some do and you know what? I care about they are up to too. It's a whole new way to bridge and make connections and I am having a lot of fun doing it. It's a whole new way to Ripple!

Check it out and look for me. My "Tweetal" (I just made that up for handle) is RippleOn. Go figure!

Hope to see you in Twitter land!

Ripple On!!!

Steve

Tightening Labor Market Means You Better Learn To Ripple

It is half passed ten and you received a call from your boss asking to see you. You immediately head over and she asks you to shut the door. Panic sets in immediately.

She asks you to have a seat as she shuffles paper around her office nervously. Your hands begin to sweat. She makes some veiled attempts at small talk asking about your son's soccer team and reliving the fun times you both shared at a co-workers birthday happy hour recently. She is stalling and you can feel it.

She abruptly shifts gears and the tone light chit chat suddenly changes with, "I have some bad news."

You can likely imagine the rest right?

Unfortunately conversations like this are going to be happening a lot more in the coming months and years. As I rode over to the office this morning I was listening to NPR and they were talking about 1/3 of the top 100 builders would be forced into bankruptcy within the next 12-18 months. The impact obviously will be devastating for people in that industry on so many levels. And honestly if the pundits continue to scare the business and consumer public, many more industries, communities, individuals and whole families will be impacted.

So the simple question I must ask you is how prepared are you? I mean if the scenario above were to occur and your boss had to have that very same conversation with you, would you be alright and have options or would you be starting at square one?

Learning to Ripple your way to the important business connections that can aide you in a time of need is so critical. Yes, there are plenty of people out there that continually tell you networking is the key to landing your next job and I would agree, but only to a certain extent. Networking alone won't help you in your time of need. Only relationships, real relationships will; and that's why Rippling is so uniquely different and honestly, why it so powerful.

My friends the time to start learning to Ripple your way to better connections, to building stronger relationships and to creating your own destiny is upon us. Are you prepared?

I want to help. One way I am putting my money where my mouth is to provide an exclusive offer to my BLOG readers to get their Rippling started by learning the true impact of The Ripple Effect. I would like to extend a special discounted price on my book for you, for your family, friends, co-workers, important customers, etc. I believe so much in these strategies and the impact that it can make in your personal and professional life I want to make purchasing this book for yourself or someone else you know needs it, a no-brainer.

The book is only the first part. Its how committed you need to be to actually implement the strategies and put in the hard (but fun) work to gain the full benefit of the power of the Ripple. I hope you will. I hope in just a short period of time you can answer YES when asked if you are ready for the potentially turbulent times ahead.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EXCLUSIVE BLOG READERS OFFER

Ripple Connection Question Of The Week

Ripple Connection Questions are a unique way to engage people in conversation. Whether with a complete stranger or someone you already know, but want to know better, using Ripple Connection Questions (RCQ) accelerate the dialogue and deepen the connection. The questions are by design, fun to ask and fun to answer, and can take your connection to an entirely new level. Come on, break out of that shell of yours and start Rippling.

So with no further adieu....this week's Ripple Connection Question is:

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR MOST
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES?

This time of year as the Super Bowl approaches, it would be easy to say football for me. I fancied myself a backyard (or actually front yard) football hero. I had this old Nerf football that I would use and I would, for hours, self-hike the ball to myself and toss it on my parents house and wait for it to come down for a completion. Passes that were thrown on the first story were good for a single completion; I needed two for a first down. Passes that were thrown on the second story would come down much faster and much more unpredictable which made them so much more fun to catch. They of course were good for an automatic first down so I went for them a lot! Hey no guts, no glory right?

I would sit out there for hours and pretend I was leading my beloved Dallas Cowboys down the field for that Super Bowl win. I especially loved this time of year as a snow game added to the flare and excitement of a Steve Harper, Dallas' overlooked and yet undiscovered future franchise quarterback, led win.

I didn't win all of them as to make it fair, I had to play both teams; Dallas and whoever they might be up against that week. And in the battle field of the Harper front yard stadium, there were many tough opponents and very few easy wins. But the wins that I did have will be forever etched in my mind and the memories will forever make me smile.

So what about you? What's your answer to this week's Ripple Connection Question? Use this question with the people who cross you path in life and I guarantee you will open up a plethora of great material from which a deeper more meaningful relationship can be built.

Ripple On!!!

Forrest Gump's Mom Had It Right

Forrest Gump said, "My momma always said 'life if like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get.' "

I think Forrest's mom was most certainly a relater. She understood something about people. She got it. I love the symmetry of that line to what has become my life's passion: teaching anyone and everyone that will listen about the power of connection. When it comes down to it, connecting is nothing but a mystery that courage and a little gumption (no pun intended) will help you discover and solve.

Life, and by association the people in it, is very much like a box of chocolates. True there are all sorts of great pieces to enjoy and consume at your leisure. And of course sometimes you select the piece that looks so yummy and you can't wait to eat it but when you take a bite you discover that beneath that attractive surface lies a filling that isn't going to be to your liking. Oh the disappointment and displeasure when that happens. But sometimes you continue to chew, you refuse to spit it out and you muddle through.

Maybe that piece is something you never want to eat again. But the candy people understand that sometimes you have to give things a second chance and in most boxes of candy you get two pieces of the same kind of candy. Perhaps, just maybe, you go back to that piece and you give it another try....just to make sure you don't like it. Sometimes, as in life, your suspicions are confirmed but perhaps, just maybe, your initial impression turns out to be wrong. That piece of candy isn't nearly as bad as you first thought and in fact, as you consume the second piece, it actually begins to grow on you. Carmel and a kid named Mike was that way for me as a kid.

People are exactly the same. Sometimes you need to take a second bite or rather make a second effort, just to make sure you aren't missing out.

Go forth and find your box of chocolates my fellow Ripplers and don't just look for the pieces (and people) you know. Take a chance. You never know what your gonna get but in the end isn't that what makes life more interesting?

Thanks Ms. Gump!

Ripple On!!!

Ripple Connection Question Of The Week

Ripple Connection Questions are a unique way to engage people in conversation. Whether with a complete stranger or someone you already know, but want to know better, using Ripple Connection Questions (RCQ) accelerate the dialogue and deepen the connection. The questions are by design, fun to ask and fun to answer, and can take your connection to an entirely new level. Come on, break out of that shell of yours and start Rippling.

How about we collectively make 2008 the year of connection? What do you say?

Seriously, why not use this brand spanking new year as our launch pad to make deeper more meaningful connections with the people who cross our path or already in our life somehow? The connections we make, and make better, will absolutely springboard you into something amazing for 2008 I promise. Why not use the Ripple Connection Questions to help you get started?

So with that in mind, this week's Ripple Connection Question Of The Week is:

WHAT EXCITES YOU MOST ABOUT
THE UPCOMING YEAR?

For me this is an easy one to answer....

It's all the possibilities that 2008 holds for me. I want to do more trainings, more workshops, give more talks and speeches, write my second (and maybe a third) book. But most of all...the one thing that excites me most about 2008 is all the new and incredibly helpful people I plan to bring into my life through the power of connection. Yes, its the stories I will hear, the faces I will see, the experiences I will have by not fearing to take a chance and connect with someone new. After all, I do believe that someone or something will have brought them into my path for a reason. It's the discovery part of why that makes it most exciting for me.

So what about you? What is your answer?

Employee Engagement Means More Financial Success

Hello from Chicago! I will be presenting and Rippling the Women's Franchise Network tonight. Should be a really fun group and I it sounds like they are expecting a record setting attendance. How cool is that? Wish me luck!

So anyway......

Chief Learning Officer Magazine wrote an interesting article about employee engagement and the very direct impact it has on a company's financial success and employee retention. The article reveals some of the truly interesting findings of the Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study. One nugget that specifically caught my attention stated that "The study found that companies with the highest levels of employee engagement achieve better financial results and are more successful in retaining their most valued employees than companies with lower levels of engagement."

Hmm....didn't I say something very similar in some earlier BLOG posts this year on team engagement and connectiveness (this is a Steveism if you are wondering)?

I speak about employee engagement on a regular basis and how having a proactive plan for connecting people within an organization is an executive's secret weapon of success. Engaged employees are far more likely to feel ownership to their roles and responsibilities within the company and that translates into positive Ripples throughout the organization; innovation, creativity, better communication, and yes more contributory attitudes to forwarding the jointly held financial football are just a few.

Recently I spoke with an executive from a Fortune 100 company who before attending a Ripple couldn't just didn't see the power of helping people engage and connect, at least not within his company. Following my presentation and after putting him through an actual 8 Minute Ripple with executives from different companies, he came up to me and said with a big smile that he "got it." The light bulb was actually visibly shinning brightly about his head as we spoke. He now understood just how much we really think we actually connect but that in society and in our own trenches we really don't have a clue. The Ripple philosophy and process made it safe and fun for him to step outside of his box to discover that connecting wasn't difficult or hard, it just needed to be done differently.

Regular readers of my BLOG know that I am passionate about what the Ripple can do for individuals and companies alike. The Towers Perrin study only further supports my need to grow my business and bring more Ripples to corporate teams, departments, partnerships and alliances. It validates my gut instinct as to why so many companies so desperately need a rallying cry that resonates throughout their organizations. The Ripple certainly makes a good rallying cry in my humble opinion.

To read more about the study please click here.

To learn more about what a Ripple-centric program might mean to your organization, please feel free to email me at steve@ripplecentral.com or call me at 512.577.3700.

No matter what you do, if you are in an leadership capacity for your company, do something...anything to get and keep your people engaged. The value so far outweighs the effort. I think the Towers Perrin researchers would agree.

Ripple On!!!

Steve