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| | The ABHP - A Bit of Humble Pie Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | Views: 524 | | Jun 19, 2009 4:43 am | | Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Eileen Brown | | At Current.com: A study run by online business networking service www.MeettheBoss.com shows that executives are spending an extra 11 hours a month online sharing their professional experiences and learning from their peers.
MeettheBoss surveyed 15,000 of its 200,000 executive members to understand more about what effect Web 2.0 has had on the business world.
The survey asked its executive users what direct value they gained from spending time running blogs, writing tweets and connecting with other executives on sites such as Linked-In, Xing, MeettheBoss, Ryze, Facebook and Twitter.
The answers revealed that executives proficient with online activities are spending an average of 11 hours more per month online than this time last year – and over 90% of respondents said they felt their time online was ‘very valuable’ to their daily role.
Professionals are rushing to the Web for immediate answers to their most pressing questions. “I find online business networking very useful,” says MeettheBoss member Oliver Bruns, Head of Polyurethanes at Bayer Material Sciences. “It allows me to create or join a discussion and get immediate answers and experiences from like-minded professionals on issues such as regulation or technology.”
Finding answers for your business is one thing, but most executives have spotted more ‘individual’ advantages to this new phenomenon. Read the rest of the article here: http://current.com/items/90127508_executives-spend-an-extra-11-hours-a-month-online.htm ~~~~~ Anyone who thinks that social interaction online is a waste of time (and MANY do) could take a lesson from participating execs. in the above article. Did you notice the mention of ryze? WOW. Haven't seen that in quite some time! EB :)
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ABHP - JOIN this ACTIVE Ryze Network! - http://abhp-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Eileen Brown | | Jun 19, 2009 12:23 pm | | re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Kurt Schweitzer | | The value of online peer interaction is proportional to how similar the businesses are.
I participate in several peer networks. Ryze, being one of them, is relatively low value to me because my business isn't that similar to most of the others here.
When I first started Urban Village Scooters I was fortunate enough to find a forum specifically for powersports dealers. It was quite valuable, especially in alerting me to problems in the industry.
As my business has matured I have discovered how scooter sales differs from powersports (although outside analysts lump them together). I was fortunate enough to become involved in the creation of the first scooter "20 Group", which is a group of similar dealers in non-competing markets who share business information, including financial information. (There are at most 20 dealers in the group, hence the name.)
While we get together physically three times a year, the bulk of our interactions are online.
Please note that peer interaction is NOT B2B marketing! The focus is on FREELY exchanging information, not selling things to one another!
Kurt Schweitzer
Urban Village ScootersPrivate Reply to Kurt Schweitzer | | Jun 19, 2009 12:56 pm | | re: re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Kurt,
If the "20 Group" is a non-competing group of scooter dealers that simply shares information, would it be appropriate to call it a "business networking group?" Has this group engaged in any specific activity that has actually increased your sale of scooters? If so, I encourage you to share that information. I think it is important to see how one business or a group of businesses can positively impact the bottom line of another business. If the group physically gets together three times each year, is there something special that these face-to-face meetings accomplish that benefits your particular business' bottom line?
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Need PR?...Call Lamar! Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901 | | Jun 20, 2009 3:47 am | | re: re: re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # |
Kurt Schweitzer | | Lamar,
The focus of a 20 Group is first and foremost to improve the profitability of our dealerships. The primary mechanism for doing this is benchmarking: We compare our own business' performance on a number of financial metrics with those of the other members in the group, and against similar metrics in our industry.
An example might be the ratio of available service hours to billed service hours. If the ratio is too high, mechanics are being paid but not working. If it's too LOW the quality of service is decreases because the mechanics are overworked and probably taking shortcuts.
Because we are in different markets many marketing approaches that are successful in some dealerships don't work so well elsewhere. For example, I have a large deaf community locally, and a significant number of deaf customers as a result. None of the other dealers have any deaf clients, so they have no ideas for marketing to them.
Each of the dealers in the 20 Group has made commitments to the group. Failure to meet those commitments results in various sanctions, ranging from pointed questions to expulsion.
There's also a fair amount of work involved, but the rewards (guidance towards a more profitable business) makes the work worthwhile.
Personally I just like picking the brains of guys with older, larger, and more profitable businesses. For example, how does a guy selling scooters in Minnesota wind up making $30,000 in one day in January? Or how does another guy wind up having his scooters featured in the TV series "Scrubs"? (These are the "fun" questions I like to ask. What's amazing is that those guys don't really know how they do it!)
There are times when it's really valuable to have someone with good knowledge of how your business works review what you're doing. That's what a 20 Group is for.
Kurt Schweitzer
Urban Village Scooters
P.S. We focus on PROFITABILITY, as opposed to revenue, market penetration, or other metrics. This means you end the year with more money than you started with, regardless of what the economy does. What would you be willing to pay to ensure you're profitable year after year?Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer | | Jun 20, 2009 1:10 pm | | Re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Teddy Towncrier | |
@Kurt.
Congratulations of your success with 20 group. ... I can see you appreciate the immense value of the synergy.
The idea of regular brain storming has been floated on this and other boards and while I have many valued friends I can call on; We are losing the synergy of several progressive folks in the roon at the same time.
Congratulations Kurt. Sounds like you have a powerful package.
See is "A board of directors of our life is more important than a board for your business." Here
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Bestest.
Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.
 
Private Reply to Teddy Towncrier | | Jun 20, 2009 1:22 pm | | re: Re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Scott Wolpow | | Kurt,
You can also get great information from other companies in differant industries. You never know where a good idea can come from. The "Meet The Boss People" are great. And thanks to this thread I remembered they invited me to join. I just found the scribled contact of their VP of BIZ development. I met them at another business function.
Private Reply to Scott Wolpow | | Jun 20, 2009 1:44 pm | | re: Re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # |
Kurt Schweitzer | | Teddy,
Please don't confuse what a 20 Group does with brainstorming.
Back when I worked for Xerox we had classes in brainstorming. (Xerox was an amazing place that actually taught employees how to conduct meetings!) I was taught that brainstorming is a free-flowing method of creating ideas and building on the ideas of others, WITHOUT CRITICISM. Under no circumstances could you say anything negative about an idea until you had gotten to the evaluation phase where you chose the best ideas to pursue. (This is actually very difficult to do - we all want to be critics.)
The 20 Group is all about analysis. It emphasizes really looking at your business - especially its financial aspects - and being aware of what you're really doing and how that affects your bottom line. We tend to create ideas individually and then review them in the group.
One aspect of the meetings is the "Best Idea Contest". Everyone brings $20 and an idea to present. After all the ideas are presented they are voted on, and the winner collects the $400.
If you don't have an idea to present the cost is $50, not $20, so you're better off bringing an idea even if you don't think it's very good.
Please note that part of the criteria for evaluating an idea is its return on investment. You need to show that you tried the idea, how much it cost to implement, and what sort of payback you received. "Blue Sky" ideas aren't likely to win the contest.
Also note that just because an idea wins the contest doesn't mean it's a good one for your business. The most recent winning idea was a technique for motivating employees, which doesn't fit well in a shop like mine with hardly any employees.
Kurt Schweitzer
Urban Village ScootersPrivate Reply to Kurt Schweitzer | | Jun 20, 2009 11:01 pm | | re: re: Re: Executives spend an extra 11 hours a month online. | # | 
Bobbi Jo Woods | | Kurt and Scott, sounds like you have a great group of folks to bounce stuff off each other now and then.
I belong to such a group locally (Twin Cities Web Professionals) and we have a list serve that we use for keeping in touch about meetings, etc. Mainly we use it for getting advice/help from one another, in between meeting dates.
I wouldn't say that it's like a mastermind or idea sharing/helping group, but we do find ways to share ideas and give each other a boost when needed.
-Bobbi Jo
B. Woods Design - Professional Managed Websites
(651) 774-0811
Web: http://www.bwoodsdesign.comPrivate Reply to Bobbi Jo Woods | | |
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