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 secret to being extraordinary is simple – go against human nature. “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” ~ Anonymous 1. Ordinary: Rush to get in every game, pitch a tent on every platform and call yourself an “expert” after six weeks of non-stop twittering with the rockstars. Extraordinary – Be patient. Listen and read a lot more than you tweet and write. Concentrate on one social media network at a time. Experiment, observe and learn what works and what doesn’t. 2. Ordinary: Go...

I used to think optimists were out of touch with reality. Wide-eyed Pollyannas who refused to see that tough challenges lie in wait for all of us, ready to pounce like meaty-pawed tigers. But then I started writing for business journals. After a few months of interviewing successful entrepreneurs and CEOs I detected a pattern. They were all optimists. This punched a big hole in my Pollyanna theory. Slowly I discovered that true optimism – the powerful stuff that fuels leaders and visionaries - isn’t rooted in blithely ignoring reality....