Be Helpful in Ways Would-be Customers Will Admire

Kare Anderson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:01:44 -0400

Want to stand out from the competition? Take a cue from a bank. Some people in Orange County, California, will be walking into a local bank branch to vote. Many will be assisted by bank volunteers who have been trained as poll workers. This SmartPartnership made local and international news. Would you like customer-attracting media coverage too? Read on.

Help Solve a Problem

4 Successful Ways We Achieve More Together Than Alone

Kare Anderson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:38 -0400

Tired of self-promotion? Would you like to make work and life easier, more productive and fun – with others? Here’s four ways others accomplish more together than you can on your own – and sometimes forge friendships.

1. Co-create Products, Cause Support and More

• From clothing design to science experiments, the right crowd can get more done together.

• Collaborate online for a cause or faster innovation - and to become more well-known.

• Crowdsource a contest; take it public.

2. Swap and Share

How We Can Argue Better

Kare Anderson — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:59:01 -0400

“Presidential candidate George Bush will be active in making pronouncements in the coming weeks… He wants to define himself before his opponents do it for him,” intoned a radio commentator when the previous Bush became president. Yes, nicknames stick. “To name a thing is not the same as to know a thing,” Richard Feynman wrote, yet naming is a potent persuasion tool.

“Even You Can Draw It So They Quickly Understand, Kare”

Kare Anderson — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:36:01 -0400

In art class we were asked to draw a familiar object. I picked something simple. A tire. No one could recognize it. And yet, after reading The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures I was able to draw a description of SmartPartnering and another on storyboarding.

How a Coffee Event Attracts More People & You Can Too

Kare Anderson — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:52:06 -0400

Some of the most masterful baristas in the U.S. gathered in a hotel lobby in Minneapolis for their annual competition last month, judged by their peers.

Be Quoted When a Reporter Covers Your Kind of Story

Kare Anderson — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:49:09 -0400

Other than inadvertently becoming part of a scandal, crisis or other notably bad or good news, here’s the most likely method for becoming part of a media story – in a positive way. Get briefed on stories for which reporters, producers or bloggers are seeking input – right now.

Embarrassing Accidents, Oversharing and Real Connection

Kare Anderson — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:01:51 -0400

Those mortifying accidents.

Stephen J. Dubner unleashed a pent-up flood of guilt and shame from readers of his New York Times column last month. Ever written an email, then sent it in haste … to the wrong person? Or cc’d people who shouldn’t have seen your candid message? Or mistakenly received an email that was not meant for your eyes?

How to Attract Star Employees Who’ll Work Full-Tilt Together

Kare Anderson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:36:21 -0400

Want a window into a preferred way of life(style) at work?

When a hot start-up in San Francisco seeks talented workers who have many choices about where to work - what does it offer? Call it the google effect. Grockit can’t provide the on-site laundry services, 14 restaurants (and much more) of google. Yet, today it landed 8 million more in funding and can offer:

• Cheap desks, expensive chairs.

3D Breakthrough Changes How We Meet, Share, Buy & Play

Kare Anderson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:31:01 -0400

He was in Bangalore and his co-presenters were in San Jose, yet Cisco’s CEO appeared live - on thesame stage. How? By using a breathtaking 3D holographic-like technology.They tout it as, “the world’s first real time virtual presentation. Aptly, it’s called TelePresence.

Reduce Your Risk in Hiring the Right Designer

Kare Anderson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:26:06 -0400

A big stumbling block in hiring the graphic designer who most “gets” your business is this. You won’t know if you’ll like the design until after you put your money down. The smaller your business and budget the greater the risk it seems.

That’s how it works at two popular places, ifreelance and Elance. Buyer post requests for designs. Designers submit proposals. Buyer hires a designer, then waits to see the results.

This month, crowdSPRING, an online business launched to level that risk. It provides protections for creatives and for buyers.