TRU Conferences

This guest post is by Miri Zena McDonald, an organization development and communications strategist on a quest to help companies thrive by engaging employees, improving culture, and promoting wellness. She tweets at @miri_orgchange.

Traditional conferences have gotten the reputation for being dry, death-by-Powerpoint experiences that often don’t fit in today’s training budgets. However, the tide is beginning to turn. Enter TRU unconferences, the brainchild of Bill Boorman and Geoff Webbto provide recruiters and HR professionals an alternative venue for learning and discussion at an affordable price.

For the uninitiated, an unconference does not allow presentations of any kind (goodbye Powerpoint!) and encourages respectful debate and discussion. The only structure is a set of “tracks” or topics led by a facilitator or panel. Last week I attended TRU USA in Madison, Wis., to get a taste of this concept and learn from the experts in attendance.

The tone was set by the untraditional venue, The Brink Lounge, a bar versus a sterile conference center combined with the kick-off presentation, a “Men of HR” calendar set to music complete with racy, tongue-in-cheek photos of the TRU founders and other early advocates of TRU events. This is clearly not your grandfather’s conference! Other unconference cultural norms included:

• Introductions based on twitter handles as in, “Hi, I’m miri_orgchange.”
• Tweeting in real-time complete with an announcement, such as “overheard.”
• Flip videos and photos to capture the moments for blogs or as “twitpics.”
• Copious note-taking since there are no hard-copy materials.
• Secret tracks that can break off the main sessions at any time by anyone.
• Healthy debate and challenging questions.
• Lots of joking, laughing, and jabs.

It is challenging to relay the full experience, but I captured some provocative questions and ideas that emerged during a few of the tracks I attended. In unconference fashion, here are my “overheards” in 140 characters or less:

• Social Media Circus: Social media can change a company’s reputation on a dime. Active participation is a must to retain and attract quality people.
• Anti-Social Recruiting: Has social media made us less social? Is the phone an “opt-in” tool now? Is communication just about being smart within 140 characters?
• Gen Y: Gen Y is a higher-needs group with helicopter parents, bigger loans, and higher expectations for perks.
• Blogging: A blog is a recruiter’s #1 marketing tool. It helps you build trust, provide advice and insights, and keep in touch with clients.

You can view a full list of the published tracks on the TRU USA website. TRU New Zealand is next up May 13, 14, 2010 with more TRU events all over the globe throughout the year.

I hate Madison, Wisconsin!

From Drop Box

Photo source: Dream Machine

Much like the 1994 Cameron/Schwarznegger tour de force, nothing about TRU USA was what it initially appeared to be.

I was prepared to dislike the location of the event.  When I first heard that this event was going to be held in Madison, Wisconsin,  I wondered what the hell Bill Boorman and Geoff Webb were thinking.    It would be difficult to get to and the city was so small – bla bla bla, etc etc.

I was prepared to be horribly disappointed about the content of the event due to the volcano driven absence of Bill Boorman and the Euro contingent that had been planning to attend.

The Truth about TRU USA

I was wrong on all counts!

Springtime in the Midwest United States is awesome.  I haven’t seen a true Midwestern spring day in several years.  Madison is a vibrant community and still one of the bastions of liberal and progressive thinking in the United States.  This was a great place to hold the first TRU show in the U.S., and the Brink Lounge was an awesome meeting space.

Recruiters, sourcers, and HR folks are really smart and adaptable people.   Despite the absence of some key participants, we all just jumped in and participated in the  event with some fervor.  It was amazing.  I learned a lot.   I even picked up an extra track on Job Boards 2020 and held my own, despite only about three seconds of time to prepare.

Key Learnings from TRU

If you are an HR practitioner and you are not paying attention to the recruiting and sourcing end of our business, you should be!   These people are doing leading edge stuff and they get it.   Here are some great folks to start with:

1. Geoff Webb
2. Marie Journey
3. Raye Anne Thorn
4. Ryan Leary
5. Jeff Lipschultz
6. Craig Fisher
7. Steve Levy
8. Steve Rothberg
9. Sarah White

It was awesome to meet Bryan Wempen in person.   It is always amazing to me how some cyber-connections just fall into place when you get to meet face to face.  We had some great conversations, and I look forward to more business discussion with Bryan soon.

Unconferences are rapidly becoming my preferred method of learning.  The vibe of these events is so much more accommodating to interactive learning than many of the big conferences.  Mixing the energy of a geek unconference event with the HR knowledge on display here makes this a terrific medium.

I can’t wait to get to TRU Amsterdam in June.  I hear there will be several hundred people at this event!

More “un”… more “fun”? For having never been to an “un-conference” before it was quite a unique experience, and certainly one I’d advise everyone attend at least once in their career. For me, the laid back atmosphere, lack of structure, and overall flow was really very nice and extremely refreshing. There was/is one problem however and it’s kind of a subject which I’ve been meaning to voice my opinion on for quite a while but I’ll get to that in a moment.

Before I get into everything, I want to thank everyone who put TruUSA together…  Great Job Guys! Looking forward to the next one I can make it to!  Big thanks to Bill Boorman who got me a spot leading a track which was AWESOME!   Although he couldn’t make it… #ashcloud…  he was missed.  Extra big thanks to Geoff Webb, Marie Journey, Julia Stone, Maha Akiki, and although he couldn’t make it either, Jim Stroud (PS:  I brought comics and everything… you were totally missed)  I had my doubts and lots of questions, but I think I get it now.  And I like it… a LOT.  Ok, where was I…

To be brutally honest, I kind of got caught up in a work project during the first 2 days #TruUSA and didn’t really spend a whole lot of time socializing. I heard the things going on around me, but I anchored into wherever I sat down in the morning and didn’t move around much. Even when the room was empty during sessions which took place in other areas of the lounge, I stayed and continued doing my thing. I’m really glad I did however because it gave me the opportunity to think, but more importantly connect one on one with several people as they passed through. This is what I came to the event for and why I was excited to attend.

On day two, I had the chance to just sit and chat with Marie Journey for close to two hours just going back and fourth mixing and matching ideas. I’ve been Marie’s #1 fan since SourceCon10’, and while I’ve listened to her talk about video, sat in on her tracks at both SC10 and TruUSA, and even watched of her videos, it was never something I’d considered using myself. She wound up giving me more insight on video while I talked up my automation ideas and before we knew it, we’d each learned something valuable and had an understanding of the application of each to our daily lives. My eyes opened quite a bit to idea of using video once I understood how to leverage it for myself. Concepts are great, but it’s the application that counts, and combining ideas, sharing, removing our defensive filters, and being True… no bullshit… yeah, that’s how to advance and progress as quickly as possible.

While the first two days I didn’t really have much interaction with the event itself other than being essentially a “fly on the wall”, I did take hear a lot of things that I’m sick of hearing. I’m not speaking specifically to anyone, I gripe probably as much as anyone if you let me, but the number one overall issue most of us have problems with is…

Flash forward to day three for a moment. Twelve people in room; sharing their “secret sauce”; nothing but pure true learning taking place. This made my two days of being a fly on the wall totally worth it. What I got out of #TruSource was something way beyond anything you’ll find at any presentation at any conference or at any large scale webinar. A collective group of people who “get it”, and are willing to “trade” ideas. Keyword in that sentence “willing”, not forced, not there to socialize, but want to learn, implement, and utilize immediately. We all need to retain our value and we all have our specialties, but combining them is where the money is at.

People talk about this all of the time in our industry but seldom address it publicly, and it’s the idea of “idea” theft. Yes, it exists, yes it sucks, and yes, it’s got lots of people, including myself scared to share ideas. Honestly, I think it’s only natural seeing as how sourcing is now even finding itself progressively more outsourced and it’s these “tips and tricks” that give us as individuals brand value. The last thing I want is something that I came up with to be re-packaged and branded under someone else. Giving credit where it’s due is critically important because now more than ever personal branding isn’t an option. What’s more important though is talking to the people who came up with the idea and collectively expanding upon it. Willingness to collaborate, learn, adapt, and really see the application and value in something speaks volumes… Hard to be willing when we’re all afraid to be sharked, and that’s why #TruSource was awesome. A small group of talented, bright, and trustworthy people all in it for progression and advancement; doesn’t get any better. For everyone who cut out early and missed it… I was let to ramble for close to 2 hours spilling my guts about some of my newer favorite toys… something which seldom happens.

Ok, now that I’ve covered Tru’s high points, let’s talk about “problem solving” and less about “our problems”. I like to solve problems, riddles, and puzzles. For me, just listening to the problems of the people who attend these events is my greatest inspiration and point of creativity. When solving any problem, you have to look at the situation objectively and start from the bottom. Here it is… the biggest problem I heard all event long… ready for it…

UPPER MANAGEMENT – COMPLIANCE – METRICS

As sourcers, it’s often been called into question whether we’re just lackeys to the recruiters we support, of if we stand on our own ground. Well, if we are truly at the bottom of the chain, then we’re the product problem higher up the ladder. The work we do is valuable.  The skills we have as individuals areVALUABLE, but what’s more VALUABLE than that is what we can achieve collectively. A lot of sourcers live contract to contract working with new people all of the time just trying to make ends meet. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the opportunity to stay with a company for longer than six months? Maybe make some real changes? Maybe see a big idea of yours implemented and learn from those results?

Yes! Oh wait… no… can’t do that as short term contractors. Top down management? What? Yeah, hot topic of #TruSource, I said it. If we’re on the low end when it comes to decision making, then who’s on the high side? Ask yourself this question if you work for any large corporation…

How many names up the food chain do you know and have you met?

Your boss obviously… maybe your bosses boss… but who do they answer to? Who are the people deciding what concepts work and what don’t? Have you met them face to face? Do they have any experience in first hand sourcing? Well, for me, I see that as the first critical piece of data to source in order to solve this problem.

I’m always delighted to see managers at these events because I always hope they take something of value away. Most conferences though, people don’t say what they’re really thinking because, they’re at these events to make good impressions. Can’t blame them, the market is rough, and making connections is a valid reason to bite your lip. So how/where/when can these issues be addressed? That’s right you should have guessed by now… the opposite of a conference is… “un-conference”! Problem is, management isn’t really at these events, and if they are, the person they answer to isn’t.

You hear “Sr. Executives” a lot in response to change… but who are these people, and why aren’t you shaking their hand at events? Fortunately for me,Accenture has been a beacon of hope and I’ve had the opportunity to meet and speak with Sr. Executive Management, and change is on its way. But I don’t know if I would have been so inclined to do so without the support of my co-workers.  Let your altruistic flag fly people!

The best ideas, the best chemistry, and the quickest way to a happy earnings report is to invest in people, invest in their ideas, and understand that great things take time. If you’re one of the “mystery managers” I’m referencing, and you actually do care about what’s going on, I don’t think there is any better venue in the world to pay attention to. Odds are, the people who you need to hear from don’t even know your name let alone what you look like. Attend; hear people remove their filter, be a little more off the record, and focus on the potential people hold and their ideas which are often shut down by cookie cutter policies that you play an instrumental role in moderating.

If you’re one of those people who feels trapped by this… and one of the people who feels the need to vent/complain… I completely sympathize, but how about instead of wasting your breath complaining to other people in the same spectrum about the same things at every event, try reaching out to someone within your organization, putting in some extra effort, learning the names of the people who can make changes, and showing them your value. Maybe… just maybe… some of your ideas will stick… and maybe you’ll see things you want to happen actually occur all the while building credibility and merit. Willingness goes a long way, and those who try may fail… but sooner or later they’ll get a win, and it will be all the more worth it.

To quote one of my favorite movies of all time said by one of my favorite actors…

“Worrying is like a rocking chair. It’ll give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere”

Ryan Reynolds – Van Wilder

Same goes for rhetorical arguments. Tru Change comes from Tru Sourcers.
You’re better than that. Run with your ideas. Focus on the now.
If you have problem, source for the solution.
Above all, make yourself a commodity and not a convenience.

See ya’ll in Amsterdam in June for #TruAmsterdam

#totallyworthit #truSource #secret #share #invent #change #progressive #tru #c4c #truUSA #coneofsilence

Sarah White and I led a track at #truUSA on Generation Y.  In the unconference format, we talked about Generation Y and the similarities and/or differences between them and other generations.  Things were going just splendid.  The debate was hitting different parts of the room, from all levels of professional expertise.  Time was winding down, when all of a sudden the universe threw me a slippery curveball.

Sarah and I received a question from the left side of the room.

“Why do you think that Gen Y feels entitled to attain higher level positions, and high salaries so early in their career?”

My response…

“We’ve been told our entire lives that we can accomplish anything we want if we just put our minds to it, and if we have passion, then we can simply bypass the hard work.”

While answering the question, I began realizing that maybe other generations were told the same. My eyes danced around the room looking for someone that might just fall into the Boomer category.  Finally, I made eye contact with my target, Mr. Steve Levy, and he knew exactly what I was about to ask.  I started to stutter…

“Umm Steve, do you think that my parents were ummm told similar…”

Before I could finish asking him if his parents and teachers gave Boomers the same level of encouragement that Gen Y received, he cut me off and said…

“Yes Rich, I am your parents”

While the room bursted out into laughter, I finally realized why Steve had called my house randomly a few months back before we had met each other.  It all made sense, Steve Levy is my parents. Just look at us…

What else did I learn at #truUSA?

• When your flight is cancelled, you receive a $6 voucher for food.  Thanks for half a beer, Delta.
• I learned that Craig Fisher (FishDogs) and I are in a bromance called CornDogs.
• Sarah White doesn’t mess around.  When she says she’s taking you to the worlds largest indoor water park, she means it.  Oh, and when she hits her head while going down the ride, and is dumped into 9 feet of water, it’s not only scary, but very funny. Scary for the life guard, but funny for me.
• Shaune Moreke laughs just as much in person, as she does on HRHappyHour.
• Richard Long confirmed that New Zealanders love Flight of the Conchords.
• Margo isn’t a bad driver, unless she’s in Wisconsin.
• Ryan Leary is just way more Philly than I am, and I’ll have to live with it.
• Rayanne Thorn and I need to have many more conversations about blogging.
• Steven Rothberg learned more than he wanted about corn.
• I look up to Andy Gregory.  Both because the man is very bright, and because he’s way tall.
• Jerry Albright will probably call me Corn for the rest of my life, and I’m very OK with that.
• Bryan Wempen and Michael VanDervort are people that I NEED to learn from.
• Kevin Grossman has further encouraged me to just go with it and let life happen.

Gimungous thanks to Geoff Webb, Bill Boorman, and Maha Akiki for the wonderful event!

Is it TRU that I’m a geek for spending 3 days with a hotel full of sourcers? Maybe, but you’re the loser for not attending (accept those so graciously stuck on the ground in the UK) and missing out on  seriously great content. This was another corporate conference with 300 booths and paid keynotes. This conference was different.

It was all about 2 letters. U and N. There’s been a movement going across the globe referred to as the Unconference. Not just for recruiting but nearly ever sector has them. The reason is that these conferences all over packed with more passion and more drive than any other conference you will attend.  Those that attend these conferences typically do so on their own dime because they are serious about education. These are the sourcers that choose to be in their profession and are not the ones that are recruiting because they can’t find another job.

So what made my experience at TRU USA far exceed any other recruiting conferences to date?

1. Let’s start with the fact that all of the attendees talk to each other, and the ice breakers are not industry related. The conversations are real.
2. It’s casual. No suites here (unless you are in London with Jim Stroud) And casual makes a big difference. There is no corporate presence or products being jammed down your throat and that promotes TRU learning.
3. Sourcers are hard core people. There are some serious skills that are on display here and we are not afraid to claim the top post. Along the way we have no problems sharing top sourcing practices with others in the room. @levyrecruits (Steve Levy) open some new channels for me that as of tomorrow will be on display for my Pharma teams back at Kenexa.
4. By the end of day 1, multiple brain trusts have formed. Idea are exchanged and inevitiably products were created. Serious products. It’s an interesting dynamic that the vendors do not show up, and that’s probably a great thing. We like to break things and tell you why they suck and what you need to do to make a significant impact. Not that we wouldn’t tell you as it is, but doing this behind closed doors allows us to get geeky and zone out.
5. Sourcers can party

In the end I can publish a weeklong series on the brain swell I acquired these last couple of days, but that‘s not the important part. The significance is that I got to do what I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.

How about you?

#Hewitt

@HRMargo You are gonna f$%$*#& kill us!

The smartest people in our industry were there!

Where else could you see the three incredibly sexy, smart and savvy “BALD” men posing for a photo? Steve Levy, Rich DeMatteo, and Geoff Webb literally put there heads together, and I almost fell off my chair.  At one point I thought Steve was going to turn to Rich and say, “Luke I am your Father.”   TruUsa was not just a load of laughs, it was chocked full of “secret sauce,” which described the trade secrets shared by Marie Journey, and Geoff Webb.

Marie’s session on video stood out at one of the most profoundly important tracks.   According to Journey, an effective video should be 3 min 26 seconds.  Once you’re over 5 minutes you lose your audience.  She gave us the “secret sauce” video secrets.  Here session was incredible.

Video seo goes for facebook as well.  Geoff Webb said the hits from his facebook music videos that he downloads from youtube always top the charts.

With more than 105 million users, twitter is a very good place to find readers.  Hashtags, used strategically can make you rise to the top of the google page, and it attracts new followers, and readers.

Geoff Peterson, articulates the importance of search engine optimization in his post.  He says “With Twitter developing recent partnerships with search engines Google and Bing, your tweets are not only being broadcast to your followers on Twitter or those in the community, but literally to the whole world .”  Here are some tips on getting your blog search engine optimized . He wasn’t at TruUsa, his video post is amazing.

Apparently google loves video too.  The posts that include video and photos have a greater likelihood to make it to the first page of google searches.  Ray Anne Thorne and Marie both suggest tagging posts with relevant key words.  Of course posts that contain trending twitter topics, and posts that mention silly words like “flash, and sexy,” get more hits. So here’s a gratuitous trending topic mention.

Today: #Lessofaman #twowordcombos, and #damnitstrue , according to Thorne, mentioning and tagging your posts with trending topics boosts your seo.

Ray Anne writes daily, and she encouraged us to do the same.  It takes discipline to keep posts under 500 words, but if we do, and tag the post generously, sprinkling it with colorful pictures and video, our posts will receive greater readership.

So, please comment.  Tell me about your experience optimizing your blog?  Did you learn something at the “Battle of The Blogs” session that I didn’t mention?  Please let me know, your comments are appreciated.

“Hello, this is Jerry…”

Yes, Rayanne is way hotter in person… Andy Gregory far taller, theGlamour Queen far glitzier, Ryan Leary more of a guru, and it is far easier to make Chris Havrilla snort. Marie Journey is far sassier and Maha Akiki’s husband could easily earn more money as a recruiter than whatever he’s doing now (just a hunch). To add to these personalities, Rich DeMatteoregaled us with the story about how CornOnTheJob came to be as well as variations of its name…there is no way I’m offering a link to explain this.

Most of all, TruUSA offered more keys to doors of insightfulness than had been expected.

The unconference concept requires you to leave your expectations at the door – you won’t hear about how a “world class employer” with a well-established, well-respected brand and a large recruiting budget develops its talent pipelines (to these people, try working at the places I enjoy – ones with a minimal or negative brand and a very small recruiting budget).

It also requires that you leave your ego behind; at an unconference, you’re rubbing elbows with very successful and confident recruiters, sourcers, and vendors, so much so that it forces even gurus to question their methods and listen to how others solve recruiting issues. If you allow yourself to proportionally use your two ears and one mouth, magic will happen.

Perspectives are the big take homes; perspectives about how social media creates firestorms, how GenY’s and Boomers have considerably more in common, how universities and colleges need to questions how they teach careership. Large group discussions are taken to animated small groups to one-on-ones. The beauty of the unstructured format is that more people interact; if you like the term crowdsourcing, then all participants are equally Queens and Drones functioning to build and grow the community.

Personally, the best part of the smaller unconference is meeting people in person, many of whom I’ve known only from their 3/4” X 3/4“ picture. Give me live-and-in-person over 140 any day of the week. I will reach out to everyone who attended TruUSA – and I’ll use the phone – and I’m certain that not only will I be a better recruiter for it, but I’ll also be a far better person too.

Simply put, I can’t thank the participants  – you’ll all receive calls from me, sponsors (BizWerks, Pinstripe, ShakeYourJob, GetAClue, redmos,broadbean, JSTN), and TruChampions, Bill, Geoff, and Maha enough.

Finally, I know I told Kevin Grossman but did I tell you about the backup singers and dancers??

I lit my cigarette and took a hit. The morning was cooler than I thought even though the sun shone big and bold in the sky. I shivered. Dang it, I thought. Forgot my jacket again.

I looked up and there she was — a vision of beauty and light in a white jump suit, lit up in the sun’s wake.

I hadn’t see her for years, but I tried to keep my cool. I stroked my goatee as if I were bored.

“Hi ya’ Doll-face.”

“Hi Jerry, how ya’ been?”

“Swell but not yet swelling,” I said nonchalantly. I took another drag on my smoke.

Doll-face crossed her arms across her chest. “Funny guy as always. I thought I’d find you in your office puffin’ away on those cancer sticks.”

“New law; no more smoking inside. Dang health-nut do-gooders.”

Doll-face’s smirk morphed to dismay. “Jerry, I’m in a pickle. Software sales are down at my firm and we’re having a tough time findin’ qualified leads. You know, those elusive HR buyers. Our marketing team’s got the visibility and traffic covered with content campaigns, but most the so-called leads we’re generating are colder than week-old pike on ice.”

Week-old pike on ice, I thought. This is serious. I pushed my hat back off my forehead.

“And our sales team can close but we can’t find the right buyers. Can you help us?”

I flicked my butt away and exhaled a smoke ring within a smoke ring within a smoke ring. “Listen Doll-face, if we can agree on my terms, then I’ll find these fickle HR buyers for you and do it before you can bat those baby blues.”

“Your terms? The last time you said that I lost my shirt, if you know what I mean.”

I laughed. “My way or the highway, Doll-face. You know I’ll get to gettin’ and get it done.”

Doll-face frowned. “You know, I can just start using social media more for free and find who I’m looking for there.”

I shook my head. “First off, ain’t nothin’ that’s free. Second, do you really think these folks all are online? I’ll bet you most of your HR buyers still aren’t even on LinkedIn yet.”

Doll-face pondered this one. I smiled.

“Okay, Jerry. Let’s talk turkey. You know, I’ve missed you. You’re the coolest closer I know,” she said, throwing her arms around me.

“Well, Doll-face, I don’t call it the Hip-Cat Recruiter Detective Agency for nothin’.”

I winked at the camera.

***

And, end scene.

I spent the last two days at TRU USA being blown away by the marketing and sales savvy recruiters have. (Thank you Geoff, Bill and Maha! And Julia *black widow* from BizWerks!)

Good recruiters. No, great recruiters. Recruiters who know how to source, cold call, warm up and close a prospect with nothing more than a paper clip, a rubber band and a phone.

I mean, I dabbled in sourcing and recruiting when I first got into the HR marketplace, but mercy the mad skills they have over my marketing ones. I’m telling you.

I know there are a lot of targeted marketing tools and skills that help with lead-gen, but how many times do we have to talk about 500 week-old pikes on ice versus 5 highly target qualified buyers?

Yes, you still need to have a broad ongoing marketing strategy to generate publicity, traffic, leads and improve your SEO.

But as look for ways to identify new targeted qualified leads, don’t forget:

• To build relationships everywhere you turn. Period.
• To nurture that sales prospect pipeline — the one you generate with ongoing marketing — and keep marketing to the pipeline.
• To focus on flipping the funnel and spend time nurturing and retaining your own customers and less time neglecting them for 500 week-old pikes on ice.
• To ask your customers why they bought and use that info instead of spending all your time finding out why the others didn’t.
• To target your customers’ customers and competitors and partners — referrals within referrals within referrals.
• To use social media to find prospects and influencers and build relationships while remembering that many of your buyers from SMB aren’t playing in those channels yet.

And in a world where hiring is still flat, irregular and erratic, why not think about adding out-of-work or struggling recruiters to your lead-gen sales teams?

I know larger companies have already got in-house demo setters and pre-qualifiers and lead nurturers on their sales teams, but for most smaller to mid-size firms I say think about it. It’s gonna cost you more, but from what I’ve seen they’ll find the secret HR supplier buyer.

According to Marie Journey, that’s the secret sauce.

Thanks to all of you that commented and voted on my blog posting about the TRU USA unconference. I actually won the ipad! I still can’t believe it. Thanks again to Pinstripe for donating the ipads for the contest. For those of you coming in late on this, read my previous posting about the contest.

When Geoff Webb (one of the founders of the TRU conferences) announced me as the winner, he asked me how I got so many votes and comments. In the moment, I just said, “I posted it on Facebook and Twitter” but on my drive home I really thought about it. How did I get so many votes? Then I remembered something pretty powerful that Ryan Paugh of Brazen Careerist said during their session this afternoon at TRU USA. Ryan is Brazen’s community manager and he said (I’m paraphrasing here), if you do things for people in your community they will do the same things for you.

I realized that this was EXACTLY how I won that ipad. It really was all about the community I’ve built and the power of acting selflessly for my colleagues and friends. I connect people, offer to help, offer advice, go out of my way, comment on people’s blogs, re-tweet great comments on twitter, share facebook postings, and more. I do these things without looking for something in return. I do these things because it brings me joy to help others. So, when I connected with my community and told them I blogged about TRU USA, not only did they WANT to read the posting, but they wanted to help ME by voting. They may have been partially motivated by the chance to win their own ipad, but I am not sure this was enough of a draw on its own. I think the main reason they did it was to help and support me.

So the next time someone asks you to help them, just do it! Don’t think about what it will get you or how you can get a return on the favor in that moment. Just do it for the fun and joy of it. You never know, you may win an ipad!