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Jan 10, 2004 5:56 pm		Coaching the coach... (was re: Network traffic: reactions wanted)
Scott Allen		Actually, Eric, I found this very enlightening, and I hope others did, too. Let's see if I can be of some service by coaching the coach: >Strategies for having a more regular, substantial message flow that benefits the members and demonstrates how coaching illuminates the issues businesses face. I understand why you want to benefit members and demonstrate coaching. Is "a more regular, substantial message flow" essential to that? In what way? >What happened? > I had to make a decision between responding to the particular person, where I ran the risk of people tuning out, because it was not their thread to respond to, or creating a new topic off the learning from the point the member made. >What happened next? > I was too present. I made up a large percentage of the posts, and I felt people were getting whipsawed. I'm glad you're sharing how it made you feel -- that's important. Do you want to create the network YOU envision, or are you willing to release and co-create with the network? And if the latter, tell me what happened, not just how you felt about it. What did the people say about message quantity? How did they react? >But I'm still afraid of not having enough traffic. How do you define "enough" traffic? What does that look like to you? Is there a specific number? >Well, there are lots of networks out there with little traffic. But this is an important part of my marketing - there's a lot of my ego in this. So is it possible that you're letting the quantity of traffic on your network be a measure of your own self-worth? >I've reached less than 0.1% of Ryze members. By contrast, >Entrepreneurs has 50 times as many members and less weekly traffic. What does that tell you about people's perception of value? Also, how long has your network been in existence? How long has the Entrepreneurs Network been in existence? Also, you've stated a fact about the Entrepreneurs network, but not how you feel about it. What do you think about the fact that it has 50 times as many members and less weekly traffic? Do you see the value in the membership, or in the quantity of postings? Or in something else, perhaps? >What else could you do to build message traffic? Tell my why, again, you want to build message traffic? It seems to me that's a means to something else you're seeking, not an end as and of itself. What is your "end"? What other ways might you achieve it other than by building message traffic? >I could actively solicit more members by visiting new member home pages, and pages of people whose posts I find interesting. Do you feel that would be the best use of your time? >So, what actions will you take? > I will ask people if, prior to my answering a lot of posts, there was enough traffic here to make visiting here worth their while. Your question pre-supposes that for everyone else, "more traffic would make visiting here worth their while." You might want to validate or invalidate that assumption before framing your question in that way. >I will let people post for a while before responding to all the posts. What happens if you respond to all the posts? And other people respond to your responses? And the original poster feels obliged to respond to the responses and the responses on the responses? Might there be an alternative to responding to all the posts? >I will more actively solicit new members from the new members list and other networks. I ask again -- is that the best use of your time? >I will also archive key learnings for "breaks in the action" and PM the poster to let him know I saw the post and am not neglecting it. Knowing that you're the network moderator and read all the posts, do you really think people will feel neglected if they don't get a personal response from you to their posts? Do you believe that's what they're seeking? Let's check some of your assumptions, Eric: Why do you feel more traffic is a good thing? Do network members feel that way? Why do you feel more members is a good thing? Do network members feel that way? What aspects of the network are most tied to your self-image? What aspects of the network are most tied to others' image of you? What image do you want to put forth to the members? What would the network look like to put forth that image? Let's look at this network in the context of the members' overall Ryze experience. How does this network fit into their overall experience? And, how does their Ryze experience fit into their overall life? Given that perspective, is there anything you now feel differently about regarding the role of this network and how it serves both you and its members? I appreciate you doing this publicly, Eric. I think this will actually provide some valuable lessons not only for the members of this network, but for all the network leaders, as well. - Scott - Private Reply to Scott Allen (new win)

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