By David Bullock

Watching the market as I have over the last year has been very interesting. Reporting on the market and what the “social media” market is doing has become a big business over the last several years. Heck, just trying to keep up with the new tools is hard enough. So, as we look at a dynamic market, what is the first thing that we have to do?

Find an anchor point.

That’s right. As this market continues to change and flow, it is not required that you learn everything that is new in the marketplace. It is required that you find your place in the marketplace and then find the proper tools to support your position and place.

For the last several months, I have gotten very busy working on executing many ideas that are supposedly “new” in the marketplace. What I find in these ideas is that the very fundamentals of thinking, decision-making and execution are lacking.

It is “throwing mud against the wall” at a very high level. What is called strategy is hand waving to an audience the does not know what they are observing. Even when you show them something, there is no criteria in place to measure progress, success or failure.

To be fair, I have a different perspective. I view this space from the position of having been a:

• Manufacturing operative
• Engineer
• Project manager
• Marketer
• Salesperson
• Blogger
• Self-published author
• Public speaker
• Promoter
• SEO
• PPC practitioner
• Content creator
• Video editor
• Audio editor
• Consultant
• Tracking and testing specialist
• Affiliate marketer
• Webmaster
• Inventor

In other words, in the worlds I inhabit, we look at a new idea and see it all the way through from inception, to creating value in the market, to successful transaction.

I have had my sights set beyond simply watching the markets. In the last year, we have successfully launched a book and completely repositioned my business in the marketplace. This process of repositioning has created a complete shift in my thinking and how I will be moving in the future. I look forward to sharing with you how we are moving within the marketplace and adjusting thought and action accordingly.

Social media is part of the getting ideas into the marketplace.

Ideas are cheap. Ideas are everywhere. You just had another idea.  In fact, as you are reading this you will get a few new ones.

You can be inspired by anything. The key is what you do with the ideas that you or others have.  Innovation is the buzzword these days… but to truly innovate, someone has to build it and make it work.

In short, an idea that is not executed is nothing but a fleeting flash of brilliance.

However, doing something with an idea is the work of giants. This is what creates wealth and moves economies.

• Getting an idea to market.
• Following through with an idea.
• Executing an idea.
• Moving an idea into the physical universe.
• Making an idea tangible.

I was in a brainstorming session a few days ago that gave me a headache.

Why?  Because all of the ideas had inherent structural problems. In layman’s terms, the ideas that were being generated lacked the clarity of execution.

My background is in manufacturing. I build stuff.  Big earth moving machines.  Boilers.  Spinning machines.  Cars.  Huge metal presses. Robots.  Mile-long plants.  Warehousing.  Trucks.  Forklifts.  Hard hats.  Ear plugs. Steel-toed shoes.

This is the world I come from. Now I find myself in the digital world, which I consider to be close to the perfect machine.

Perfect Machine:

• No weight
• No space requirement
• No power consumption.
• Runs automatically
• Self-regulating
• Self-servicing

This morning I am awake to the fact that the world that I come from is still extremely valuable.

Why?

I am seeing a lot of people talk about what should be done and what should work.  After the fact, they tell you why it works. But only a few people can really build things from the ground up, meaning:

• See the idea.
• Build the structure.
• Pull the resources together.
• Design the systems.
• Create something.
• Keep working with it until it is producing something meaningful.

What are you not only willing to think, but willing to do to really make something happen and show up in the real world?

The Obama campaign is an excellent example of building and growing a tribe.

For those that have read the Barack 2.0 book you will see the mechanics and strategy for building a tribe using social and other media.

The social media technologies and platform today give any company the tools to enter the market.

But the questions then become…

• What do I say?
• How do I create value?

• What market can your business lead?
• What is the human concern that is being handled with your business?
• What do people really care about?
• What already existing community can your business tap into and provide service for?

Until Next Time,

David Bullock
Co-Author Barack 2.0 – Social Media Lessons For Business