I’m no good with a torque wrench but it’s a powerful tool in the right hands. And when it comes to networking, twitter (used well) would give even Chuck Norris a run for his money. This struck me like a direct message from the great Chuck himself when I was at BarCamp Charlotte Saturday. I met so many interesting people that I can barely remember them all. I’ve never had so many people come up and introduce themselves to me at an event before. Many conversations began with “Hi Lisa, I follow you on twitter.” Instant ice breaker....

Last fall I read a WSJ article about “Mystery Worshippers.” These professionals are like mystery shoppers only instead of rating customer service and inventory they rate things like pew orderliness and the length and strength of the sermon. I can’t get this article off my mind because it means that people are shopping around for their churches. And if they’re shopping around for church – unimaginable when I was a kid – what does that mean for businesses? More than ever before, people are expecting and demanding exactly...

Every time I get involved in a discussion about social media and how they fit in the marketing/PR puzzle, talk turns to rules. “How many people should I follow on twitter?” “How much is too much self-promotion?” “How many times a week should I blog?” “What percent of my tweets can be personal/off topic?” My answer is always the same: I don’t know. Sure, I can make suggestions, but only after asking a lot more questions. If anyone tells you she has definitive answers, especially without spending some time...

The number on the bedside clock read 3:48 a.m. and I had spent an exhausting day driving from North Carolina to central Pennsylvania, but I just couldn’t sleep. My mother’s words kept running through my mind. First, on the phone: “They’re taking her off the respirator today. It won’t be long after that.” Dressing. Packing. “It’s horrible. They’re watching the monitors, waiting to see if she’s letting go.” Driving. “She’s gone.” My nieces’  mother died of lung cancer...