Safety Consulting Corner

Going Once Going Twice

Chances are you have spent some time cruising around eBay but have you ever searched eBay for business products?  If you haven't looked for business supplies, you'd be surprised what you can find - everything from binders to projectors to sampling equipment. A year or so ago I was able to get an InFocus projector for just a few hundred dollars. Other business related supplies I have purchased through eBay include a business card scanner and training class supplies. I have never not been able to find what I need and at a very good price. Of course, you should be careful shopper, especially when buying used equipment. If you are not an auction expert, check out the following article for some hints to help you win what you bid on. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1047/win_what_you_bid_on_how_to_win_ebay.html

One Ear Open One Ear Closed

In Curt Rosengren's blog, he talks about the term "skeptator." I love this word! If you are like me, I am sure you have had more than your share of dealings with skeptators. When you were thinking about going out on your own or when you presented an idea for a new safety program at a client's location, you may have faced some skeptators. Are skeptators always bad? Even though we might think our life would be easier without them around, they can force us to look at our decisions and ideas from a different view point. Did we really cover all the bases? Did we do everything possible to make our ideas work? Although we should listen to skeptators with one ear, we also need to remember that just because someone says something can't be done, it doesn't mean that it's true. Take the comments from those skeptators for what they are - only comments - for YOU to decide how to use.

With Risk Goes Reward

In Seth Godin's blog, he talks about two different types of people in the workplace - thrill seekers and fear avoiders. Seth goes onto say that thrill seekers are the ones that love change and are excited to try new things. If you have read any of my articles in "The Advisor," you know that I strongly encourage consultants to go out on a limb and try new things. As safety professionals, we are trained to avoid or lessen risk and if an employee is a thrill seeker at work, they are likely to have a lot of accidents - exactly what we do not want.  The key is to understand that there are right risks and that not all risk is bad. Yes, trying a radically different approach to workplace safety is risky but isn't it riskier not to try something new that could have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of workers? One of my favorite books is "Right Risk: 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life" by Bill Treasurer. (Click here for an excerpt that was posted on the Business Know How website). Mr. Treasurer really puts risk in perspective. Even after several readings, this little book (it's only 200 pages) is still one of my favorites.  Take Seth Godin's and Bill Treasurer's advice - be a thrill seeker and find those risks that are right for you.

People Who Need Pipl

A friend of mine recently told me she saw my Amazon Wish list after checking out my name on www.pipl.com. Not that there is anything bad on this list (it is something I do every year to give my husband some gift ideas) but I had always thought it was private. This website, pipl, will search anyone's name and bring up more listings than you can imagine - not always good. For example, I found that my name and all personal contact information is located on a school PTA list. Another source showed an article I had written in the end notes of an online text book which I knew nothing about. If I kept going through the pages and pages of listings, I am sure I would end up with pages of follow up on a to-do list.

One lesson learned - I will start using my middle initial more because if you search on Linda Tapp, you will get a lot of listings for other "Linda Tapps" as well (and there Amazon Wish Lists might not be so innocent!) I would also suggest that you try this yourself - go "pipl" yourself at www.pipl.com. You might be pleasantly (or not) surprised!

Publicity for Pay?

This post is the first where I am not recommending a specific product or practice. In fact - this post is all about a practice you should not copy.

As a consultant, we have all been told how important it is for us to write and submit articles. Many, many smart consultants have a selection of FREE articles on their website. This not only demonstrates their expertise but gets them some free publicity as well when others ask to reprint these articles. Usually, that is what these articles are there for. If you wish to reprint an article found on a website, all you generally need to do is ask for permission in writing and 99% of the time, the author will gladly let you reprint it as long as you include their byline information. In fact, by asking to use someone's article, you are asking if you can give them free publicity - something most service providers would not refuse.

You may have noticed that I said 99% in the above paragraph. I recently discovered someone in this other 1% that got me to write this rant. This individual preaches how important it it to write articles. He is a good role model in that respect since his website contains hundreds of articles related to his area of expertise (sales training) and others. He also preaches the importance of customer service and he has many articles on this topic as well. 

I recently contacted this very well known sales trainer via his website about reprinting one of his articles in a newsletter. I can guarantee that no more than 25 people on this 2000+ subscription list ever heard of this person so there would have been some good exposure to a large group. The first problem is that it took more than a few days to get any response at all from this supposed customer service king and when I did hear back (from his assistant), she told me that there was a - get this - $100 reprint charge for the article (in addition to some reprint request form that had to be submitted). You've got to be kidding me! I am offering to give this guy free publicity for something already easily accessible to the public, and he wants to charge me?  I learned that this "sales king" is not only greedy but that in fact, he does not "walk the talk."

My advice to other consultants - continue to write often and when someone offers to give you free publicity, say thank you with a smile. 

The More the Merrier

If you are planning a seminar or other event where you need to accept registration, you should check out www.whoscoming.com. For a very modest fee, you can easily set up a registration site for any event. You can set up an account for a one time event or you can set up a yearly account. The site is very easy to use. If you have all of your event details in front of you, you can walk through the steps of setting up your site and be ready to accept online registrations (and payments) in less than an hour. Try it out for your next event and you will see how easy event registration can be.

Sticky Wiki

When I lived in England I first heard the term "a sticky wicket" and although it is unrelated to this post, that phrase reminds me of what I want to tell you about today - wikipedias.  Wikipedias, or wikis as they are usually called, are online encyclopedia type sites on any topic.

For most people, this is really cutting edge stuff. As with blogs and podcasts and other things that I am always telling consultants that they need to get involved with, wikipedias are hot. They can give you added presence in the marketplace and help you achieve that expert status. I just listened to an awesome podcast called the Harvard Idea Cast (Episode 31) where the importance of wikis is discussed so even if you don't believe me, you can listen to the folks at Harvard. You can hear the podcast by clicking on the above link or at http://hbsp2.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=184945 which takes you to the same place.

The king of all wikipedias is www.wikipedia.org  where a wikipedia is defined as a free content encyclopedia created by volunteers.  Wikipedia uses wiki software (which you could use too) to allow any number of people to edit the encyclopedia. Relavant articles and other resources are shown as links.   Listen to the podcast and you are sure to get some great ideas about how you could use wikis in your consulting business.

PS - By the way - a "sticky wicket" (according to www.Answers.com) is a term that means a difficult or embarrasing situation