You can see examples of business card with QR Codes as well as other new ideas on updating your business card in this article from Mashable.

Do your actions create a positive buzz about you and your work?
Landing a new account or impressing a client can get your boss and your colleagues talking. Think about your actions at your workplace. Do your colleagues talk about you in a positive light regarding your impact on the company’s success?

Do your actions make others want you to be part of their team?
Success begets success. If you are successful, others will want you to be on their team for projects, sales presentations, or customer support.

Do your actions make your employer cringe at the thought of losing you to a competitor?
Tremendous added value you create is bound to be seen by other companies. If other companies want you, this puts you in a powerful position, but you must make sure to stay humble.

Do your actions make your customers excited about referring you to their colleagues?
Did you “got to bat” for your customer on pricing or customer service? You may think customers don’t know the difference between normal and extraordinary support from their sales person or contact person, but they do.

iAd is sure to be valuable tool for marketing. According to Apple, iPhone users have downloaded over five billion apps and spend at least 30 minutes a day using iPhone applications. iAd also offers metrics, which adds value to marketers seeking to measure their efforts.

For more information on how IAd will affect mobile marketing, check out this blog post from DMNews.

Recently, I was a participant in the pre-market test project for AT&T’s new Microcell 3G product. The Microcell 3G connects to your broadband service and acts as a mini-cell phone tower. During the test we learned that the Microcell 3G device needed to be placed at least one foot from your exiting Wi-Fi device.

Now, the instructions for the AT&T Microcell 3G device clearly state the proper placement for the Microcell 3G device. A simple solution that could have become “Microcellgate” had the instructions not included this needed statement.

So the simple solution for Apple would have been to tell people “don’t cover the antenna area while talking on the phone”. Or you could have been given the reason for purchasing bumpers, which fit around the iPhone and help with the reception issue. Not a big deal. But Apple made it a big deal, by first denying there was a problem. Then, giving a partial-admission of the problem, then a full-admission and then, finally, a resolution. If they had simply admitted the problem and offered a solution immediately, it would not have grown in the PR nightmare we have witnessed. Apple took a simple matter and turned it into a major multi-million dollar disaster that will take years to overcome.

The lesson for companies, candidates, or anyone dealing with the public is to be upfront and honest. Let the public know as quickly as possible what they deserve to know. In Apple’s case, the antenna issue should have been handled in the iPhone 4’s operating instructions.

On a side note, when I ordered my iPhone 4 on the first day, I noticed they were selling bumpers,. In a “Blink” decision, I purchased bumpers for my phone. I’m glad I did. I am perfectly happy with my iPhone 4 and would have bought it even if I did know about the antenna problem. Think about all the money Apple has spent – and will spend – on “Antennagate” when a simple truthful statement about the antenna weakness could have avoided the entire matter.

According to this blog post from SocialFresh, Starbucks started its social media campaign by working with existing unofficial fan pages to consolidate them into one official page at Facebook’s urging.

In the social media space, there are many claiming to be rock stars, but Starbucks is by far the biggest social media success thus far. Companies should look to them as a leader in the space.

Even though early-risers tend to have a more take-charge attitude, night people have qualities that are also needed in business. Night people tend to be more creative and will bring energy to those late-day meetings that morning people dread. They are also likely to be more social and rally other staff members for after-hours meetings outside the office. This can foster camaraderie and teamwork. If your company tends to hold a lot of meetings and brainstorming sessions, it’s best to vary the meeting times to get the best ideas out of your morning people and your night people. Some companies are also offering flex scheduling, so people have more options as to when they arrive and leave the workplace. Morning people can arrive at 8 and stay until 5, while night people can come in at 9 or 10 and stay until 6 or 7. This ensures that you will get your employees when they are at their best performance level.

You can read the entire article here.

On Wednesday, July 7, 2010, Governor Beverly Perdue met with 160 of the top officers in the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Here was her message:

“If you betray your oath, you will be dismissed,” Perdue said. “I don’t believe that since some of these men and women were sworn in 22 years ago that anybody has ever dared get in their face and say that ethics code is a litmus test for your job.” (News & Observer, July 8, 2010)

Perdue’s meeting and comments might make good politics, but it is extremely poor management. Perdue was addressing the troopers and the press after a series of trooper misconduct that has occurred over the last several years.

In managing people, it is my strong and firm belief that you NEVER handle inappropriate behavior by blasting the entire staff. Perdue even admitted yesterday, “I continue to believe that 99.9% of the men and women of the North Carolina Highway Patrol are doing tremendous work.”

Well Governor, if you believe what you say then act accordingly in doing your job as a manager.

Good managers do not treat good and innocent employees as part of a problem.

Good managers deal with problem employees directly, individually, timely, and appropriately.

Good managers do not call group meeting to address the problem – blasting the good employees with the bad.

It is amazing how often I am asked how to handle employee problems. Sometimes the manager wants to write everyone an email or memo telling the entire staff not to do something inappropriate. Sometimes the manager wants to hold a group meeting. My advice is always the same, deal with the problem directly and NEVER involve good employees when dealing with a something that is none of their business.

This advice is true for any supervisor, manager, or Governor. It is Management 101 and a lesson the Governor of North Carolina needs to learn – if she intends to effectively manage people.

One last point, Management 102 says that the Commander of the Highway Patrol should be dealing with these issues. If the Commander is not doing his job, he should be replaced.

A major point that Cloutier makes is that fear is the “best” motivator. Sure, a lot of people fear losing their job, but to quote the movie Office Space, “it will only make someone work hard enough not to get fired”. In my opinion, fear only works as a motivator if you do not care about the quality of the people working under you. Companies that employ this tactic have a high turnover rate and often cannot hang on to quality employees even in this harsh economy. Smart and self-respecting individuals will not stand for working for a company that sees him or her as a mere cog in the machine. You will not get quality work out of fearful employee. Fearful, unhappy employees are also likely to air their complaints to friends, family, potential customers and even potentially talented employees. This could cast your brand in a poor light and it could be difficult to overcome.

There is a great counter-point post in response to Cloutier’s article on the Lead Change Group’s website. You can read it here.

One of the biggest issues people face with customer service is that it’s not easy to reach someone. Sometimes it seems like companies go out of their way to avoid facing a customer. If you call, you usually have to go through an automated system and then wait for 20 minutes to talk to an actual person. If you email, you usually get an automated response. This isn’t always a bad thing, because sometimes they provide answers to frequent problems in these emails. If you are lucky, you can find your answer and be done with it, but if that’s not the case, there is more waiting, with no way of knowing if your problem will be solved.

People like to talk to another person to solve their problems. Even the most tech-savvy of us like to know that another person hears and cares about our problem. I think this is why many companies like Dell are using social media to resolve customer issues. It makes the customer feel like they have been helped by a friend, not a faceless corporation. Also, if a problem is solved publicly and a previously unhappy person is now happy, it creates general good will towards the company. You can’t buy that kind of PR.

This blog post offers great advice on providing good customer service. The piece of advice that stood out to me was about occasionally surprising your customers. Wheat Thins recently surprised a loyal customer who tweeted about their product with an unusually large amount of crackers. You can see the hilarious video here.

Have a Plan
Always have a plan before diving in, including a plan for failure. However, don’t overdo it. There is such thing as over-planning to a point that your risky venture never comes to fruition or you miss a window of opportunity to cash in on an idea.

Talk to the Team
Involve a few people from the departments affected by your risky plan and get their input. They may think of an obstacle that you overlooked. However, don’t overdo this either. Only involve those that have insight into what the possible risks could be with your plan.

Goals
Always attach a goal to your plan, even if it’s just a small one. Having something to work towards will provide you and your team with extra motivation to make the plan work.

For more on risk-taking, I recommend this blog post, Ten Risks Every Entrepreneur Should Take.