When most of us lose our job, we don’t uncork the champagne. But when Lewis Green was laid off from his VP of marketing job six years ago, he and his wife didn’t waste a moment to start celebrating.
Meet Lewis Green, a communications specialist and self-described “adventurer,” who over the course of a 40+ career, has worked as an executive editor, publisher, free-lance writer, and communications manager for big companies. For the last 4+ years, he’s run L-G Solutions, an Avon, CT-based communications company that helps small- to mid-size businesses grow.
I recently had the good fortune to chat with Lewis, whom I connected with thanks to positive WOM for a presentation he gave at a Connecticut networking function.
At age 62, Lewis is a game changer and maverick who has strategically made a name for himself online, unlike many of his fellow baby boomers who are still struggling to “get it.”
In the last year alone, his communications business has grown 60% through his strategic use of social media. Lewis blogs for Marketing Profs and at his own blog, Biz Solutions Plus, which in one year has become an Ad Age Top 150 blog.
Along the way he has managed to write five books, with his latest, Lead With Your Heart, published in November 2007.
He has also passionately embraced social media, working Twitter, Plurk and LinkedIn like a virtuoso, and in the process developing many online friends, who have turned into business associates and terrestrial friends.
Most of all Lewis has the right attitude. Where many of us fear change, Lewis welcomes it, which is why he was able to view losing his job as an “opportunity to do something bigger and better.”
All of which made me think of the classic line from Don Juan in Carlos Casteneda’s A Separate Peace.
“The difference between a warrior and an ordinary man is that a warrior sees everything as a challenge, while an ordinary mans sees everything as either a blessing or a curse.”
Here is Lewis’advice to help us become warriors:
- “Recognize that people don’t buy products or services. They buy us. They want to buy from people who are credible and who can be trusted.”
- “We must realize that our first and last job is to put people first.”
- “We differentiate ourselves by creating great experiences for our employees and customers.”
Wendy Marx, Personal Branding and PR Specialist, Marx Communications
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