Monday 8 October 2012

Are you less valuable due to a poverty of attention?

In 1978 Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon said: "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention."

There is a lot of good that can come from social media not least of which is how quickly people can now gather together to support a cause and bring about change.

There is also a dark side to social media - a poverty of attention.

Paying attention to ourselves, our employees, our customers/clients, all our stakeholders, is a key to delivering value to them that they demand, desire, and feel that they deserve, which after all is what business is all about.

Paying attention is also key to living our values, feeling valued and encouraging other people to feel valued. Living our values and feeling valued are critical to delivering value.

I notice and feel a distinct lack of attention in shops and stores everywhere and online shopping is generally a soulless experience particularly when it doesn’t go to plan and becomes a nightmare because great customer service online to solve problems I am yet to experience.

We are all the poorer when people don’t truly engage and pay attention.

There is much I love about social media. Through it we can easily maintain our Google rankings, enhance our credibility and reputation. We can demonstrate our value via great content, spot opportunities for collaboration, and further the power of interconnectedness.

The darker side though is that we can all too easily spend too much time and energy online and fail to properly pay attention to real people in the real world. And we are all poorer as a result and therefore less valuable.

When I first embraced social media in 2007 it didn’t take long before I was spending 20 hours a week online. I would be a minnow today compared to some people!

Over the past 18 months I have really been focusing on getting my in person and online work in perspective and harmony for me. I now spend just a couple of hours a week on social media and my business is booming.

My focus has shifted back to paying attention to real people in real life. My business is better, my life is better. My family, friends and clients see me as more valuable to them. This is what really matters.

How valuable are you really to the key people in your life and your business? 

Could your online and in person harmony be better for you so that you are genuinely being as valuable as possible to the people who really matter in your life and your work?

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian
I work with business owners/leaders of medium sized business and leaders of divisions in multi-national companies to lift employee performance by enhancing their gifts.




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